Opportunists descend on Haiti

When Secular America threw rotten eggs at Pat Robertson for his cruel and inflammatory comments about Haiti, his defenders slunk out of the wood-work with only one possible defense: Hey at least he's raising money for them.

Well, now it's time to call bullshit on them and the scores of other religious opportunists.

When the tragedy struck all kinds of religious groups saw their opportunity: A captive audience. So they brought with them all the compassion they could muster. (Keep in mind as you read this that there's very limited room on the runways of the wrecked Haitian airports, so every plane that touches down should have an optimum of supplies and aid.)

Scientologists are delivering aid in a pretty compact manner, they don't even need bags. They're working with the body's natural healing electricity:

A Parisian Scientologist named Sylvie told reporters at a Haitian medical clinic that she was there to offer a special brand of healing.

"When you get a sudden shock to a part of your body the energy gets stuck, so we re-establish communication within the body by touching people through their clothes, and asking people to feel the touch," she said.

There's also this ridiculous first hand account of Scientologists wasting space (not just on this earth, but in storm-ravaged Haiti) and using up supplies.

And Scientologists are happy to also announce the opening of their first orphanage. So now, like other religions, they can indoctrinate children from the start. And where better to set up shop than in the desperate, starving island of Haiti. Who better to preach to than children who just watched their parents die? It's a young church's dream come true.

Also, be on the look out for the (nondenominational?) protestant group Faith Comes By Hearing, who aren't tempted to use their resources to send food or help rebuild houses or even to reunite families searching for each other. They're bringing the Haitian people what they clearly need most in this terrible time. Bibles. And not just any bibles. Solar Powered Bibles. See, cause if you can't read Jesus' language (English), it's OK, just hold your Solar Bible up to the magical sunlight (ya know, if you can find it through the thick haze of settling wreckage and burning decay) and the bible reads itself to you!

But don't think the young churches are the only ones profiteering here. How about the Catholics? There's some evidence they're getting in on this in their traditional way. How many words is this screenshot worth?



According to a series of comments on STFU, Conservatives Tumblr blog, this now defunct facebook group was founded by students at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in N.J. Whether that can be trusted or not is unclear, but if it is true it sure shows the kind of compassion Catholics like to teach their children. So much compassion that they'd go out of their way to promote hatred against those in such desperate need.

Then there's the Baptists.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Ten Americans detained after trying to take 33 Haitian children across the border last week were charged Thursday with abduction and criminal association, according to prosecutors.

The charges, which carry prison terms of up to 15 years, were announced after a closed-door court hearing in which prosecutors questioned the Americans, most of them members of a Baptist congregation from Idaho. The case has become a flashpoint for Haiti’s fears of foreign encroachment in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Ah, the baptists. Let's not say they're kidnappers. Let's just say they coerced loving parents in desperate need into surrendering their children in what seemed to be a penguinesque publicity stunt. I'm not sure if the baptists thought they'd return home looking like heroes for saving children or if they just went to Haiti with the goal in mind to nab as many children as possible, before they started makin' deals with the devil!

It's too early to say what the motivation was, but one thing is clear:

Desperate parents in this struggling village perched above Haiti’s earthquake-flattened capital said they gave their children away willingly, trusting the American missionaries who promised to take them to a better life.
The stories the villagers told The Associated Press on Wednesday contradict claims by the Baptist group’s leader that the children came from orphanages or were handed over by distant relatives. But they also attest to the misery of a nation that was the hemisphere’s poorest even before the Jan. 12 earthquake struck.

This Baptist group was willing to lie, in true Christian style to take children from their parents and place them, in their own words, with "loving Christian parents." Even if I believe the best of their intentions, I have to point out that in lieu of bringing food to the starving they attempted to force the starving into a strange country away from their families and everything they know, so that they could have food. (by the way, this isn't the only questionable ethical issue facing this particular group)

So there's just a small wrap up of how religions are using this disaster and its captive fearful audience to propagate their corpo...ahem...churches. Opportunists. Here's hoping they all kill each other.

Of Mormon and men

I may not be a very humble blogger, but I like to think I only toot my own horn when it's earned a tootin'. (Please resist the urge to LOL at any pr0nographic implications there). Anyway, I've predicted the future before, and I'm happy to say I've done it again.

Way back in September I pointed to what I thought was a developing trend: Right-wing Mormonism gaining ground in America. Was I ever on the money this time!?

The above graphic comes from this story about a poll that finds Mormons the most conservative U.S. religious group (The story was from January, I said in September, but you know, whatever.)

In addition, former presidential candidate, and likely 2012 contender, Mitt Romney is being asked to mediate the conflict between homosexuals and his Mormon church. Although, Romney has pandered to, and then dashed the dreams of, homosexual rights before, some gay groups still think that he can help the church tone down the rhetoric.

Not to worry, though. These conservative Mormons are an easily divisible type. Whether one feels obligated to vote in favor of a 'Troubled Asset Relief Program' or just wants to make sure a newly elected Senator knows who's boss, (especially when the republican in question is an abortion rights advocate) the Mormon conservative subset, much like the larger Republican Party right now, is full of schisms.


...As if it needs to be pointed out, this stands as evidence that religion informs your decision making and often, as can be seen through the 'lapsed' Mormon's numbers, to the contrary of what you would naturally decide. It robs people of critical thinking and replaces it with something to follow.

Religious thinking unfair in both love & war

Living in the Northeast U.S., it's easy to view the world as mostly secular. Sometimes, after hours of internet debates with theists, I start to buy into their claim that I'm unfairly targeting them, that they're a minority that deserves respect, that I'm just some angry ranting atheist who sees the harm of religion in everything because I look for it. 'Most religious people aren't these oppressive, illogical, fascists like you make them out to be,' they'll say.

Of course, it doesn't take much to step back and see how pervasive those illogical fascists really are. Just look at today's news alone.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A proponent of California’s same-sex marriage ban testified Thursday that he thinks gays are more likely to be pedophiles and that allowing them to wed would lead to efforts to lower the age at which teenagers can legally have sex with adults.
Lawyers for two couples suing to overturn the ban, known as Proposition 8, called Hak-Shing William Tam of San Francisco to testify as a hostile witness to prove that bias toward gays fueled the campaign to pass the measure.
Proposition 8 sponsors have tried to distance themselves from Tam, even though his name appeared alongside ballot arguments for the measure in voter information pamphlets during the 2008 campaign.
In federal court, attorney David Boies spent time walking Tam through a Web site for a Chinese-American evangelical Christian group that featured a headline reading “Studies Show That Homosexuality Is Linked to Pedophilia.”
Tam serves as secretary of the group, known as the American Return to God Prayer Movement.
The Web site also contained a link to another article claiming gays were 12 times more likely to molest children.
“So you supported this Web site making these kind of statements?” Boies asked.
“Uh, yes,” Tam said.
“Do you believe that homosexuals are 12 times more likely to molest children?” the lawyer continued.
“Yeah, based on the different literature that I have read,” Tam replied.
Boies pressed Tam to cite books, articles or authors he had read to substantiate the views, but Tam said he could not remember specifics.

In other words, it went like this:
Tam: Same-sex marriage is wrong cause gays molest kids, and as everybody knows, all marriages have kids and gays can't adopt kids now already.
Lawyer: O Rly?
Tam: Yup, I read it somewhere.
Lawyer: Where dat?
Tam: I don't fuckin' know, but down with queers up with Asian Jesus.

So, we've got one case where religious thinking, STINKING of red herrings, is oppressing people. A religious organization is outright battling something that has nothing to do with it. And they're not the only ones.

Check this shit out:

Documents show links between Prop. 8 campaign and church leaders [Updated]
January 20, 2010 | 3:09 pm

Documents unveiled during today's federal same-sex marriage trial revealed close links between the Proposition 8 campaign and leaders of the Catholic and Mormon churches.

Over the objections of defenders of Proposition 8, challengers presented an e-mail that said the Catholic Church played a substantial role in providing volunteers and money to get the measure qualified for the ballot.

That e-mail, sent by the executive director of the Conference of Catholic Bishops to bishops and a cardinal, also said that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided "financial, organizational and management contributions" to the campaign.

[Corrected at 4:08 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the e-mail was sent by a member of the executive committee of Protectmarriage.com.]

According to a Mormon Church document entered into evidence, the church was telling its members not to take the lead in promoting Proposition 8 but to support the measure through Protectmarriage.com.

The church document said a teleconference had been held in Salt Lake City with 159 of 161 Mormon leaders in California. The leaders were told to teach the church's beliefs about marriage and encourage members to contribute $30 each for Proposition 8, toward a projected goal of $5 million, in addition to general fundraising.

The challengers also presented a document that said Mormons were walking neighborhoods one day with 20,000 volunteers for Proposition 8, and that evangelicals organized teleconferences with as many as 3,000 pastors around the state in an effort to pass the marriage ban.

--Maura Dolan in the San Francisco federal courthouse

OK, so again, a church is outright sticking it's nose where it explicitly doesn't belong and in a very Christian manner seeking to cover it up. To LIE about it. Isn't there a commandment about that shit? Well, I guess if the Catholics are gonna lie about their criminal priests by hiding them, it's no big deal for any other church to.

Look how EASY it is for religious institutions to toss their 'values' aside in the name of preserving the institution, of keeping people in line with their views, of oppression.

Not enough? How's this rub ya? Despite the fact that Bush claimed that the war on 'terror' and the war in Iraq were not a war on Islam we see time and time again that this IS being and has been viewed as a religious war since the beginning. I miss the days when I was only cynical enough to think this war was about oil. How sad to find out it really is about religion.

Even the weaponry says so:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Michigan defense contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the U.S. military, a major buyer of the company’s gear.
In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., says it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from the telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have bought more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.
The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries.

...

Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is standard issue to U.S. special operations forces, include “JN8:12,” a reference to John 8:12: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ’I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,”’ according to the King James version.

And, you know, since these are mostly young men out there killing and being killed apparently for someone's freedom (not mine, I know that) having Jesus on their side really helps them cope with killing civilians and the like. Cause Christians are good people right? I mean, isn't that what people say? 'He's a good Christian boy.'

Christianity in America is somehow conflated with moral. Here's a good Christian boy, also pulled from today's headlines:

Pastor who murdered wife gets 65 years

WACO, Texas (AP) — Jurors on Thursday sentenced a former Texas minister to 65 years in prison for murdering his wife and trying to cover it up as a suicide.
Jurors deliberated for about two hours before agreeing on the sentence for 38-year-old Matt Baker. He had faced from probation to life in prison for slipping his wife sleeping pills and suffocating her in 2006.
Baker showed no reaction when the sentence was announced. When the judge asked if there was any legal reason why Baker should not be formally sentenced, he said: “I truly believe in my innocence. I believe the jury made a mistake in this.”
Later, as deputies led him from the courtroom, Baker turned to his mother.
“Love you Mom,” he said. “Take care of Kensi and Grace.”
Kari’s mother Linda Dulin told Baker that the family had decided to forgive him for the sake of the two daughters.
“You took her from us, Matt; you discarded her like she was yesterday’s trash ... and you left so many other victims,” Dulin said in her victim impact statement at senvtencing.
“What you did was horrific ... and I believe you are capable of much more evil.”
Jurors declined to comment after the trial, which almost never happened.

Oh, or how about a nice Jewish boy whose bazaar prayer ritual, which couldn't wait for the plane to land, diverted a jet to land in Philadelphia instead of it's scheduled New York.

"Oh, you angry atheists, you just see religious harm everywhere cause you WANT to see it everywhere," they say.

These are the stories just from today — I can pull this everyday, I'm not looking for religious harm, I just know it when I see it and I see it every single day and I can't be quiet. I'm not going to respect a thought process that causes so much harm.

Look how many deaths are caused and how much love is prevented just using religion, Just Today

I'll leave you with this quote from last week's Atheist Experience.

"Building individuals up benefits the individual. Tearing individuals down and saying that the religion is what can save you, that's what benefits the religion"
— Matt Dillahunty

Pat Robertson wastes no time hating on Haiti

It blows my mind when Christians who line up behind characters like Pat Robertson tell me that their religion is about love and forgiveness and peace, yet continue to stand behind a man who's statements are completely out of line with these values.



So let me get this straight: Coming down off an 9-year jingoistic bender, Pat Robertson, who looks as tired and close to death as ever here, is babbling incoherently (and drooling a little) about a fairy tale he made up, on the spot, which vilifies the French, blames the Haitian people for the deaths of roughly a half a million people, and includes a cameo from this 'ol guy:



Come the fuck on. It happened "A long time ago?" "We will serve you?"

So Pat Robertson, who has a very highly rated TV show is telling millions of senior citizens, and a few arguably abused children, that weather patterns and geographic positioning are meaningless and that, perhaps, some god has decided that, even though this supposed pact with the devil happened "a long time ago," he'd get around to smiting the Haitian people. As long as white, upper class, American, retirees don't feel bad or delude themselves into thinking maybe they could send a few buck from their bloated social security checks to help out, right Pat? Cause fuck these non-American, different skin-toned, economically repressed, uh, uh, DEVIL worshipers.

My issue isn't really with Pat Robertson, obviously this guy is a fucktard with no sense of broadcasting responsibility, no rational thoughts and no human compassion (and, surprisingly enough, he's RICH from it). My problem is with the legions of assholes who will just sit in front of their TV's and nod and sip their brandy and say "Praise Jesus for giving this man a TV show."

The only comfort is that Robertson and the large majority of his audience are a dying breed. And I don't even have to beg a supernatural being (or encourage any natural beings) to swoop in and kill them (ya know, cause they're so old and pathetic already).