No Not Pac Man, Noooooooo

Pac Man is one of my bro crushes so I often times over look his super devoutness to that Catholic religion that most Filipino's halfta endure. He does a lot of charity work, lives in the Muslim part of the islands, is a civil servant and most importantly...he can kick my arse (hence the lack of shit talking). As of lately he's going overboard with his religious statements all of the time. Wait, it's the phone. Yes, this is Kriss. Ahha, yes...OK then, thank you. That was Tim Tebow, he said to tell Pac Man to tone it down.

A national pastime, like baseball here. I'm ashamed of my country.

Has the national fist done anything wrong. No. I'm just gonna atheist rant right now. I forgot where I read it yesterday, but Pac Man said that after the next fight, which may or may not be the last fight, and after he is done being a politician, he's gonna go the uber religious route. Why, he has accepted an invitation to be a "church spokesman (whatevah that is)." I'm irked right now and I dunno why.

Seriously, a freekin' octogan for chickens. Really.

 What else did he do. "I'm no longer in the vice business." At one time very recently, Pac Man was the proud owner of $700,000 worth of chickens. Well, not chickens, but the very proud and infamous fighting cocks of the Philippines. In the islands chicken fighting, err cock fighting is a beloved and respected national pastime (yuck, super gross and wrong peeps). While other countries destroy and murder way cooler animals like bull fighting in Spain, myyyyyyy people...chicken fight. So he quit that shit and that is a good thing, right. Still irked.

This guy can do no wrong I tell ya, you kind gentle and very goodlooking readers. He also sold a casino and a niteclub in his attempt to go viceless. In the article I read yesterday, the article I cannot find today, he also said no more alcohol and no more "womanizing." Wow, this is the coolest guy in the world. His legend just keeps growing and growing (1). Hello...irked.

Paris(?)

"I have found my real peace and happiness now. I draw strength and inspiration from reading and hearing the word of God," Kriss' bro crush, The National Fist, Manny "Freekin" Pacquiao. Aaaaaaaa, why does that bother me. This is the little old lady that goes to church on Sunday (in her sic arse 65' Mustang, original), donates her time and money and does no wrong, only the correct. OK...I'll tell what's wrong.

It false. In this case there is no problem with the destination, it's a problem with the road. I'm glad that Pac Man is doing the good, it's just that when a celebrity that is so epic and has such a great influence on the peeps that the backlash from statements and actions might take years to recover from.  Man, I tell ya, my beautiful Philippines needs help, so much help, but religion divides and religion is elitist, esp his/mine Catholic Christianity. Religion is the problem.

This year we had Timmy *expressing* his faith on a weekly basis to an audience of tens of millions and maybe even more. Currently the Lin-sation is "quietly" proselytizing his splinter cell of Christianity ever time he does a double crossover, then drives the paint for a layup or jab steps-n-pulls back for a jumper-so much so that his longtime pastor has been doing national interviews this past week. Great 'pub' man.

I guess it comes down to the good ol' 1) is religion a force of good, or 2) a force/source of evil. I think it's great that Pac Man is done with the disgusting "womanizing". He is a role model and fo sho the Filipino youth look up to him and emulate him. But to imply that the road of faith is the only road and the correct road...well, that is dookie.

(I think I gave this analogy before...) If you had a good friend or family that was kickin' the shit outta his g-friend/wife, then wouldn't you say something. I would. The family of Christian faith has many abusers in their house. The time to only acknowledge the good that the church does is over (thanks Four Horsemen). In yesterdays Left Hemispheres there was a great Hitch clip where he hands some clergy some ass on a platter and his point was that sure religion does good, but it also does hella bad and in fact, perhaps more bad then good.

Irked. Why? We are outnumbered and out (metaphorically) gunned. We do not have atheist superstars that can spread messages of critical thinking skills and reason to millions upon millions, easily, week in and week out for years and years. It's cool that Pac Man does good and I'm glad for him and his family and friends. But it sure seems unequal that Tebow got to spread his faith to an entire nation of football fans, that is pretty much the entire nation, and currently Jeremy Lin's faith is the topic of national headlines (and I'm sure his bracelet that says something like 'playin' for the Lord' or something, that everyone can see plain as day on national TV is selling like those hotcakes those cool kids keep talking about).

Now, my bro crush is professing his faith to a WORLD WIDE audience, giving the same ol' glory to God, the glory that we grew up with, when attention should be on correcting the wrongs that the church has done. Currently the Catholic bishops are telling women and employers and even the president what women should and should not do to their bodies. My awesome LGBT friends still cannot get legally married (everywhere), but a common gigolo  like The Newt is running for president. Butt Juice (Rick) is also Catholic and he's the point man for his personal war on women.

We have always given religion positive attention. I thought one of the cool things about The New Atheists was that we advanced the conversation and demanded that we now look at the whole of religion, the good and the bad, and not cherry pick little old lady beliefs of religion which ignores the horrors and the straight up crimes that religion is responsible for.

Irked

(1) Off the top of my head legendary shit that Pac Man did. His dad ate his pet dog as a kid (because they were hella poor) so he ran away to Manila to learn boxing. he was too small for his first fight so at weigh in he put lead weights in his pockets to make weight...and then he won. Then...In the southern Philippines there is a war between the North and the South, between the rebels and the government, between the Muslims and the Chistians. One day he called a truce and both sides got together and played a game of basketball. I can't makes this shit up, man.

* Article, but not the one I wanted.

* now that i think about it...we are metaphorically and literally outgunned. shit.

The Return Of Exorcisms...Again

There is an attempt to return to...exorcisms. Yes, the future is now, well, except when religion is involved. It's the conservative Christian right that wants the return to that 1950's America that may or may not have existed (if your a baby boomer white person. It probably didn't exist for the masses), religion has held back the progress of the mind and the human condition for at least 2,000 years in exchange for clinging to the outdated, harmful and I'll just say it...it stupid.

Growing up a Filipino Catholic there was no way to question the existence of demons and Satan, much less God and as an adult card carrying member of Team Atheist, I see that childlike faith still has it's unreasonable and irrational tentacles wrapped around society. Really, a normal, rational adult is supposed to believe that Satan sends demons to inhabit ones body in the made up battle between heaven and hell. With all we know about brain chemistry and mental illness, there are still factions of society that want to take away personal responsibility and put it on the metaphorical shoulders of a freekin'....demon.

Father Jose Antonio Fortea is a real deal exorcist. He is studying to get his doctorate in theology in Rome and he travels countries lecturing about the many books he has written on the topic of exorcism. He claims that the bible is the best textbook for exorcisms, and that is because Jesus was an exorcist. He is also trying to expand the definition of the possessed to include more subtle demonic mischievous (and I think that is an attempt to drum up more business). He says, "Ever exorcism is a gift that helps us believe." I say, and quote me on this one, " Demons are fake, Satan is fake, exorcisms are fake, but brain chemistry and mental illness are as real as I'am sexy...and humble." Quote me on that one.

In an effort to eliminate the competition, he claims that exorcisms are necessary often times when people practice something called Santeria, which to me sounds like a delicious alcoholic drink one enjoys in the summertime with friends, as well as magic, witchcraft and that super evil and destructive demon, New Age philosophy. It's really quite ingenious of "them"...eliminate the competition. It's basic economics, folks.

"Oh wait, you're not a boy. I'm sorry miss. Tell your brother to come see me in the rectory. Sorry our inside joke."

Oh, pray tell (I'm not sure what that means)...I can go on and on. I'll end with this...

"Demonic spirits take over the body, not the soul, he said, which is why the sacrament of confession is more important for the average Catholic than exorcism (link)."

There are no such things as demons, only brain chemistry and I'd rather go to see a psychiatrist than go into some box and tell some boy fucker all the weird, cool and sinful things that I have done (I'd be scared they're wacking it in there and I was raised Catholic and I always went to confession and I always told the truth, like I do now. ie "Father forgive me for I have sinned, I have smoked the weeds, talked back to my parents  and I felt a cute white girls booty....and I liked it. A lot...a lot. Forgive me father, I'am with sin. Yuckie). While the world is sending their best and brightest to the states for education in science and technology (for them to return to their countries), lazy, uneducated, uber religious, fat, stupid and blind Americans are believing in frackin' demons, when they should be getting real scientific medical attention.

 Previously

 Here also

The Roundy Roundup For This Friday (That's today, Yo)

Wow...so many good articles today and I can't settle on what topic to write about so guess what all you kind gentle and very good looking readers...no not chicken butt (this time)...time for a new roundup-n-shit.

Washington Post On Faith is killin' today. If they could bust out like this all of the time, then they would be my favorite (sorry RNS). One of the cool thingies about WPOF is that they give us a platform to do our thing. Par example...

Hey look, I'm Sammy Hagar's brother. OK, I'm not.

Psychologist and dude with really great hair, Steveo Pinker goes over the religion poisons everything spiel. His article Has religion made the world less safe is really not anything new to peeps that have participated in the conversation since the arrival of the 4 Horse Guys. But still, it's good to go over things and solidify you/our argument(s).

Believers and nonbelievers are cats and dogs, Mars and Venus, but sometimes, that is sometimes...chocolate and peanut butter is pretty OK. Rev. Barry Lynn of that secular group that is always in the news because they do really awesome work calls out Pat Robertson and his claim that god told him who will become the next president. It's very interesting to me because there were three GOP'ers that claimed that God told them to run for president and they are no longer in the race. Did God make an oopsie.

I Googled Pat Robertson squeezing out a poo.

Matisyahu, the hasidic reggae rapper, did the no no and...da da daaaa, cut his hair (their God said, bro don't do that.). I've seen his show twice. the first time it was awesome reggae dancing, super funky and the second it was all "spiritual" goobely-goo. I would be interested in seeing him again. hopefully it will be better than the last time (boring...snore).

The tiny president with the super hottie wife (where's my super hottie wife, le sigh) Nicky Sarkozy gives props to the ladies by visiting the grave of Joan of Arc. If she were still alive today she would be 600 and I'll just say it...all the cool guys like powerful women (f*ck submissive women, who the hell wants that) sooooo, I'd probably f*ck her. Any who..

Lastly, the religion of my peeps (Filipinos, because Spain cam to the islands and forced that shit down our throats...we probably were like Native americans of North american before they came and Islam was all up in the islands before Catholicism was.) has been in the news a lot this week and if you are a yound boy...that is not good.

I used to heart these as a kid.

First a Catholic bishop in LA resigned because he fathered some kids when he was supposed to be celibate and now they are adults. the church is going to compensate them by paying for college and counseling. This situation brings up celibacy and priesthood, but i could frackin' care less about that. what I'm surprised about and wondering...he did it with and...woman. That's not M.O..

It is the 10 year anniversary of the exposing of the Boston boy fucking scandal. Recall this was the first one, the one that blew it open. The Archbishop, then and now, has...get this...sorrow.

Then lastly, lastly...Pope stupid hat (really, bro, get some better gear, yo) recently appointed 22 new cardinals. That is pretty high up the boy fucking ladder and they get to vote for the next pope. Unfortunately, the one bishop that was vocal and critical about how the Catholic church handled the boy fucking scandal...was not promoted.

I got all these articles from the super awesome Washington Post On Faith. Pretty good stuffs for a one stop shop. Awesome atheist, there are so many to go to, there is religion News Service, CNN Belief Blog (the weakest of the bunch), Huff Po Religion and Religion Dispatches (super essay good) and many more. Atheist, get into the conversation and participate. I'll just say it...we are smarter than them and we are on the correct side of history. This IS the golden Age of Atheism. Let's do this together, like a team.

Awesome sauce peeps. I dunno if I'll be able to post this weekend. I'm going to the City where I wuz born and my awesome lil' brother is gonna take me to a show (I'm really nervous cause the last time I went to a show it was horrible. Thanks depression). I also hope to see my super sweetheart, old Deadhead friend that has fantastic hair. I might be looking for a new job and a place to live while I'm there and ya know what, if I can watch some football and drink some beer, then...baddass for me. Me me me....

Stay warm and awesome all you super smart, very good looking and godless reader peeps. wish me luck....

Awwwwhhhh, If I Culd Happen To Me

Wow, an actual excommunication letter. Wow.

I do believe that if I choose to officially leave the Catholic church of my childish years...it certainly would not be this easy. Hell, I would be totally stoked to get a letter like this from Pope Poo-Poohead ("poopoohead, one word, two, three?). In fact, I think it is impossible to leave the Catholic church (anyone know fer sho), it is something like they, or God owns your soul forever, or something. I'll just go down the excommunication letter point by point, but don't take my word for it, read it yourself.

The letter states that bad attendance is the reason for getting kicked out and then a bible passage is spouted out (spouted is a good descriptive word for what they do, right(?)). It is something about not hanging out with your team (ie going to church) specifically "not to forsake our own assembling together." What am I gonna say Team Atheist....

Classic cherry picking! So humans decided to kick another human outta their elitist club and they chose to look thru the bible to cherry pick a passage to justify their thoughts/beliefs. They could have chosen the passage where Jesus says that when you pray/worship me, then do it in privacy. No they can't choose that one because it would be...gasp, a contradiction.

The next paragraph is so good. They claim that Jesus said that it is up to the church to discipline the losers that do not go to church. But then again, they could have chosen the one that says no one can judge, only God can judge.

The end of the paragraph is everything that is coo-coo crazy pants with religion. They obediently follow the commands of Jesus (they are innocent, just following orders), and they hand you over to Satan (who said I/you/we/us wanted to go to Satan, we just didn't want to go to church) because...because, this is the best part...because when you are suffering in hell and it totally sucks...then you will see the love of God. Their words, "....come to your senses, repent and return." My words, "After you suffer a suffering so bad you can't even imagine it...well, yea, to see God's love tho, right." Yyyyeeeeeaaaaaaa.....

The last paragraph says the words that I wish so badly to hear from my old church "...we are declaring that you are no longer a Christian,..." Ya know, kind gentle and very good looking readers, as a joke, if that ever did happen to me (which would be awesome), I would cherry pick my own passages from the bible and....veto their excommunication.

...well of course it couldn't be "everything" that is wrong with religion...it's too short.

* poo poo head, poopoohead, poo-poohead, poo-poo head, poo-poo-head (naw, that last one sucks, it couldn't be that one....is it(?)

Excuse me sir, do you know where George Carlin Street is.

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(Sarcastic) Dugh, yeeeaaaa. As if Team Atheist needed another reason to not like the Catholic church...really. This is ridicules. The self proclaimed holy men, the ones that have been trying to convince the world that women are inferior to men-because their Sky Voyeur created the ladies second and from a dudes rib-that have been trying to convince the world that there is a super all powerful and all knowing Gawd that cares who we have sex with and how (doesn't sound that powerful to me) and that Gawd loves the GOP...they have gone to far on this one.

Pastor Raymond Rafferty of Corpus Christi is going all brimstone and hellfire over the proposed idea of naming a street after the thinking man's comedian, George "frackin' Carlin (didn't I write the other day about religion getting mad over a 'proposed' idea). A stretch of 121st street, between Broadway and Amsterdam, is the territory in question. It is also the area where Carlin grew up. The fear that Pastor Uptight Pants has is that at his school, which is also the Catholic school Carlin attended, the children might read Calin's name on the street, thus being exposed to his "vulgarness" (as if kids are not exposed to vulgarness). Prioritize much?

The Catholic church has dwindling numbers and is facing extinction because it is a bronze age belief that does not relate to modern times and peoples...oh yea, that boy fucking thing also. Of course the mistake is mine, after all, I'm sayin' that the church doesn't makes sense. It's my bad for ass-u-me-ing that the Catholic church should make sense (what was I thinking).

This is why the battle for secular society is so important. It offers a fair public square for everyone. And speaking of fairness, if Pastor Uptight Pants is all outraged over one of Team Atheists favorite comedians, then we should show outrage over Christians killing gays in Africa, squashing scientific progress in favor of mythology and stupidstition, and yes, the boy fucking. Once again Team Atheist shows up in the comment section.

I heart y'all.

* Article

Working Both Sides

Honestly, for a while growing up I thot I wuz Japanese. I didn't know what a Filipino was/is.

 O yea, ready for some super vague-y vague-ness reporting and commentary that may or may not make sense...too bad. I wanna say "kettle" and "black" again but I've said that too often the past couple of months. But what can ya expect, after all, we are dealing with religion, ya know, that thing that Team Atheist says is synonymous with "making sense", right(?).

What is that really good Kurosawa movie when the samurai works both gangs and instead of him killing all of them, or being killed him self, he gets them to kill each other-and then he gets paid on top of that (what a frackin' baddass). It was the inspiration for that Clint Eastwood movie, I believe it was called-and fo sho I've been wrong before, A Few Dollars More. Any who...

Team Atheists' mbff, Bill Donohoe has responded to the stupid that the Rev. Robert Jeffress has been saying as of late. In case your are not a prog-lib, atheist, skeptic, nerd, political junkie, baddass, then let me fill ya in. The Rev-J said the stupid last weekend when he went all "Mormonism is a cult" blast. There is way more, must remember to finish this one (1).

So our good friend Bill, president of the Catholic League, responded to Rev-J's dumb dumbheadedness with...

 "Where did they find this guy? When theological differences are demonized by the faithful of any religion—never mind by a clergyman—it makes a mockery of their own religion. Rev. Jeffress is a poster boy for hatred, not Christianity (Catholic League Newletter Home, Ya I read that. Dontcha?).

 Wow Bill, hate much. That was not a very Christian-y comment. That last statement is what we have been sayin' about Bill for a very long time, err, our good friend Bill. Oh did I mention that the Rev-J called Bill's religion "the outgrowth of a "corruption"called the "Babylonian Mystery". Wow again. I don't even know what those words in that order means, but I sure know me some fightin' words when I hear 'em. Those are fighting words. Wait there's more. This is religion, there is always more hate.

Rev-J...


“Much of what you see in the Catholic Church today doesn’t come from God’s word. It comes from that cult-like pagan religion. Isn’t that the genius of Satan (CLN)."


Oh no he didn't. Wait did I mention that the Rev-J is one of those evangelical Christians (I forget which one, the one that spreads hate and intolerance) that believes that they practice the one true religion and everyone else practices Satanism, or something like that. So kind gentle and very goodlooking readers, you can see why our good friend Bill went off with his "Where did they find this guy" blast. So epic on both sides...the hate that is.

I dunno, this atheist is content to sit back and watch both sides go back and forth, lobbing hateful comments and then responding to the response of an earlier lobbed hateful comment. I'm sure I've mentioned this a million gazillion times, but classic military strategy, the one move, basic fighting principles 101, if you don't know this, you don't know squat...divide and conquer. Hell, I would like to participate, err, I dunno, maybe talk some shit and do the "Hey Bill, wanna know what Rev-J said about you." You know stoke the fire a little, enuff so that both organizations and philosophies go at it and eventually burn into nothingness.

Oh in a perfect world. Until then, I'm a gonna watch them battle like one watches a tennis match, and yes...I will enjoy it.

(1). Rev-J also blasted Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism as "false religions." And this morning I read an article where some separate church state peeps want the IRS to look into Rev-J for violations. This guys talks to Gawd. So rich...

* Article

Galileo Galilei Was Wrong (?)

The world revolves around me. Wait, I'm the erffs.

I always mention that conservative Christians still debate things like Roe v Wade and the Scopes Monkey Trial and evolution in general...but this takes the cake. There a Catholic peeps that are bringing back that good 'ol model, and by that I mean incorrect, of an erffs centered universe. Forget science, the Catholics are speaking.

"Heliocentrism becomes dangerous if it is being propped up as the true system when, in fact, it is a false system," said Robert Sungenis, leader of a budding movement to get scientists to reconsider. "False information leads to false ideas, and false ideas lead to illicit and immoral actions — thus the state of the world today.… Prior to Galileo, the church was in full command of the world, and governments and academia were subservient to her (LA Times)."

Maybe Islam is correct. Ya know, turtles and elephants.

So it's not science, it's a conspiracy to take away the power of the church, after all these centuries...and experiments...and that proof that skeptics and scientist keep talking about...it a conspiracy. Luckily every sane person that was interviewed for the article says, don't trip...we are sun centered, or heliocentric.

And then again there is this wiki quote...

A proportion of the public still believes in the geocentric model. Approximately one in five Americans and Britons believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth, according to surveys in 1999, 2006.^[75][76] Approximately one third of Russians believe in the geocentric model, according to a survey in 2011.^[77]

Howz about everything revolves around this.

I dunno call me crazy...I believe science.

*LA Times article on the loonies that want to return to an erffs centric model.

The Newest Bishop Scandal in the Philippines

I frackin' swear, I'm going 'home' one day.

Team Atheist, you know nothing makes me feel better than talking about my beautiful Philippines and the influence that the super yucky Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has over political matters. Fo sho there is separation of church and state in the Islands, but hell if it is enforced. Usually I talk about the reproductive health bill, but the bishops have a new controversy to contend with.

The newest controversy is over a lotto operator kicking down some of that good kickback action to the Catholic Association of Boy F*ckers, err, I mean CBCoP for political favors.

"A pastoral letter issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines assured followers that the bishops concerned “are ready to accept responsibility for their actions and to face the consequences if it would be proven unlawful, anomalous and unconstitutional (Wa Po)."


"Wow." Me as I roll my eyes. 


The former president, Arroyo, is somehow involved in some bishops getting hella SUV's and the inappropriate spending of 6.9 million pesos (aprox $158, 000). One loser bishop had the audacity to ask, to frackin' ask for a new vehicle for his 66th b-day. Guess what happened, dude got a new SUV worth 1.7 million pesos (aprox 39,000 usd). The lotto peeps are supposed to be raising money for projects that help the millions of poor peeps in the Islands (ya know, I don't doubt that they do do that, but do they also do the kickback action, yes).

So here we go again. Blame the sin, but not the sinner, and whatever you do...don't blame God. I don't even want to hear what excuse they will spew to explain away the buying of SUV's for the bishops (i.e. it is tropical in the islands and they NEED new SUV's, yea, like that). I don't know if the Prosperity Gospel is taught in the Islands, I think that is the territory of the Born Again's not the Catholics, regardless, I'm sure the super old and powerful Catholic church are the originators of money for salvation, buying your way into heaven, the 'eye of the needle' but not in this case, living in luxury while the poor and needy are poor and needy  kind of stuffs.

The Islands have so many problems: that North v. South war that is really Catholic v. Muslim, they are still fighting the communists (there was an attack last week, I believe), over population due to doing God's work and biblical sexism, poor agriculture (they have to import rice, WTF), poverty, education, ya know all the stuffs that any third world country is facing. What the Philippines has that other 3rd world countries do not have, or at least not to the extent, is the massive political corruption that is tied into the super powerful Catholic church. The Vatican must be very happy with the Philippines, the people are devout and uneducated, the are dissing the separation of church and state, they are doing God's work and doing it really good (that means really bad) and they are making hella money. Money money money.

Just like George Carlin said, "Why does God always need money?" Well my dead homie mentor, God doesn't need money, people do. I still love you Philippines. I will love you thru this scandal and the next one and the next one. But just like my running, horrible thought filled brain...I just wish it would stop.