Headline Of The Day: Surprise, Surprise
A surprise bris? Oy, just oy. Continue reading Headline Of The Day: Surprise, Surprise
Category: Religion
Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Beelzebubba edition
OK, people – a few hundred dollars worth of hardware and labour and the loss of my Windows 7 Professional software later, I’m back online and ready to rock.
Only one subject this morning – Hail Satin!!
IRS recognizes Satanic Temple as ‘church’, grants tax-exempt status
April 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has formally recognized the Satanic Temple as a church, according to a celebratory announcement by the organization and as confirmed by the Associated Press.
On Thursday, the Satanic Temple announced on Instagram that “for the very [first] time in history, a satanic organization has been recognized by the United States federal government as being a church.” The IRS website confirms that the Satanic Temple is now a tax-exempt organization “eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions,” but gives no further details on its status beyond being a “public charity.”
The AP, however, reports that it received a copy of the notice, which classifies the Satanic Temple as a “church or a convention or association of churches.”
The IRS’s decision comes despite the Satanic Temple’s own website all-but acknowledging it isn’t a religion in the traditional sense. The group’s FAQ page explains that it doesn’t believe Satan or other supernatural concepts literally exist, but embraces Satan’s name as a “symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority.”
It claims to qualify as a religion because it has “deeply held beliefs that we actively advocate,” a “narrative structure by which we contextualize our lives and works,” and a set of symbols and practices that give a “sense of identity, culture, community, and shared values” – a definition of “religion” that could encompass any number of ideological, political, or cultural groupings not traditionally considered to be religions.
“IRS regulations draw a clear distinction between ‘churches’ and other religious organizations,” Catholic News Agency adds. “A church must have certain characteristics, according to IRS requirements, including: a recognized creed and form of worship; distinct ecclesiastical government; formal code of doctrine; ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study; established places of worship and regular religious services.”
Rolling Stone notes that the Satanic Temple itself has rejected tax-exempt status in the past, but reversed its position in 2017. Temple president Lucien Greaves made the change in protest of President Donald Trump’s moves to protect religious liberty, which Greaves claimed was turning religious groups into a “privileged class” from which Satanists should benefit as well.
“This acknowledgment will help make sure The Satanic Temple has the same access to public spaces as other religious organizations, affirm our standing in court when battling religious discrimination, and enable us to apply for faith-based government grants,” the Temple’s announcement added, meaning the new status is likely to bolster its legal claims in cases such as its placing of Satanic statues in the state capitals of Arkansas and Illinois.
The Daily Caller notes that the new status is “redundant” on the matter of grants, as there currently aren’t any federal grants exclusively available to faith-based groups, and faith-based and secular groups are equally free to compete for grants.
This should be good.
To: ebb tideIt will be the official Church of the Democrat(sic) Party.
2 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:22:45 PM by Reverend Wright (TAX the WOKE !)
Projecting just a wee bit, aren’t we? Democrats by and large favour separation of church and State.
You know? Like in the Constitution you inbred idiots claim to worship?
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Maybe you were thinking of Franklin Graham?
To: ebb tide
Leftist, commie, socialist, anarchist, satanic-demokkkRAT bureaucrats; the gov’t is stocked with so many of them, my calculator melted trying to count one agency’s roster.
3 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:23:34 PM by carriage_hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
Are you sure it wasn’t your alleged brain that melted?
To: ebb tideThe main sacrament of Satanists is abortion
Think about that for a minute
5 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:25:07 PM by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
Nah – the main sacrament is sacrifice of pre-teen children.
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Or was that ICE’s?
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(I actually have this t-shirt: )
Rush fanboy YYZ makes a good point here :
To: ebb tide
Of course – this is Free Republic, and Freud never sleeps :
To: Roman_War_CriminalSodom and Gomorrah comes to mind.
6 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:25:11 PM by ExTexasRedhead
Come for the sodomy, and come back Gomorrow for more.
To: Roman_War_CriminalIt’s an anti-Christian hate group of atheists.
What’s their religion?
Is the Klan a religion too?
8 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:34:00 PM by a fool in paradise (Denounce DUAC – The Democrats Un-American Activists Committee)
…asking for a friend…
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More satanic majesties at the link below…
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Beelzebubba edition”
Saturday Odds & Sods: Afterglow
The weird weather continues in New Orleans. We seem to have skipped fall and gone straight to winter. One day we ran the AC, the next the heater. As you saw yesterday, the cats are happy. They love blankets and space heaters. I could do without either. I hate the cold; a stance befitting someone who has lived most of their life in California and Louisiana.
The other down side of cold weather NOLA-style is that public places crank up the heat. I strolled to the grocery store the other day dressed for the great outdoors, I returned a sweaty mess since I had to walk fast to avoid the Valence Street rooster. I’m not a fan of chickens and this one is on the aggressive side. I’d rather eat them than dodge them.
This week’s theme song was written by Tony Banks in 1976 for Genesis’ last pure prog album, Wind & Wuthering. Afterglow is a drop dead gorgeous song that closes the album as well as an era. It’s the last Genesis album featuring lead guitar player Steve Hackett who was missed almost as much by the band’s fans as Peter Gabriel.
We have two versions for your listening pleasure: the Genesis original followed by the Classic Rock String Quartet.
Now that we’re afterglowing, let’s jump to the break. I promise a soft landing.
Kristallnacht In Broad Daylight
Writing for First Draft is one of my passions. It’s often my therapy. This has been one of those times. The MAGA Bomber’s failed attempt at mass assassination shook me to the core. Then, the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh left many of us questioning what it means to be an American in the Trump era. I am proud to be an American, but I am ashamed of our current leadership’s inability to respond with an ounce of human decency or a scintilla of empathy. As far as the president* is concerned, it’s an inconvenient interruption of … Continue reading Kristallnacht In Broad Daylight
Malaka Of The Week: Jesse Duplantis
Come fly with Malaka D. Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: Jesse Duplantis
If She Was Your Daughter
I grew up around evangelicals in Alabama. They know this shit happens–in homes, on the street. In churches. Let me tell you what they do: They blame the girls. https://t.co/jQBm3o1ptO — Donna (@totallydonna) November 9, 2017 Do you know how many women I know, who told their fathers? Who told their mothers, their friends, a “trusted adult” that they were being hurt or had been hurt? Do you know how many of these people, who have daughters, did nothing? Homeless shelters are full of girls and boys whose parents chose their abusers over them. It happens every day. Hey @tedcruz. … Continue reading If She Was Your Daughter
What is the 7th or 8th Commandment?
Holy Mesopotamian Mess, Batman. Continue reading What is the 7th or 8th Commandment?
The Keepers
Adrastos on the Netflix true crime documentary. Continue reading The Keepers
Even For Politico This Is So Gross: Happy Easter!
This isn’t how God works: President Donald Trump has increasingly infused references to God into his prepared remarks — calling on God to bless all the world after launching strikes in Syria, asking God to bless the newest Supreme Court Justice, invoking the Lord to argue in favor of a war on opioids. That … isn’t finding religion. It’s finding a sales pitch. For, let us be clear, war, war and more war. “I’ve always felt the need to pray,” Trump said in that late-January interview. “The office is so powerful that you need God even more because your decisions … Continue reading Even For Politico This Is So Gross: Happy Easter!
The Korematsu Case Revisited
Adrastos on the so-called Muslim Registry. What’s next? A Yellow Crescent? Continue reading The Korematsu Case Revisited
Sitting Political Shiva
This is dedicated to all my Jewish friends alive and dead; especially Mrs. Rosenberg and Harry Danning who taught me so much when I was young. Continue reading Sitting Political Shiva
A fart in church
One of the best parts about writing for this blog is the diversity of thought and experience of the readership. That’s not me blowing smoke. It’s true. I have found that I learned a lot about my own position on this big blue rock from hearing of the positions of others here than I learned anywhere else. Agreement, disagreement, whatever. It comes down to people coming at an idea I have from a variety of angles. Never more is this true than in the field of religion, where not only do people come from various faiths, but various positions on … Continue reading A fart in church
On Mandatory Miscarriage Funerals
For my own sanity, I’ve been staying OUT of this election so far. I just don’t have the mental bandwidth to deal with this shit show. So last night when I stopped into the crack van (just to say hi, I wasn’t watching the debate) was the first I’d heard of Mike Pence’s stance on mandatory funerals for miscarried fetuses. Horrified, I mentioned a story then that I didn’t want to take over the crack van to explain, but I’ll tell it now. I went to Catholic high school during the early 2000s. George W Bush was newly-elected President, and … Continue reading On Mandatory Miscarriage Funerals
Trump Lives in Our America
This is a sitting governor, guys, so talk to me some more about how Trump is such an outlier. “I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don’t have to do it physically,” the tea party politician said in a Saturday speech at the Values Voters Summit, an annual gathering of religious conservatives. “But that may, in fact, be the case.” Bevin said he was asked in a recent if the nation could “survive” a Clinton presidency, and he responded that it would be “possible” but at a great “price.” “The roots of … Continue reading Trump Lives in Our America
Saturday Odds & Sods: Domino
It was diabolically hot last month in New Orleans: the hottest July in recorded history. August has followed suit thus far. What can a poor boy do? Huddle in my study, which is the smallest room in our house, and luxuriate in the air-dish and ceiling fan. We’re all big fan fans here in the Big Sweaty, especially when it’s not fit for man or beast outside in the heat. That’s life in the big city, y’all.
I’m not into to the whole Pokemon Go thing but many people are. So much so that a guerilla artist put a fiberglass statue of Pikachu at Coliseum Square here in New Orleans. My friend Jessica tweeted about it:
This is really well done. Good job, Stealth Statue artist!!!! #PokemonGO #pokemonument pic.twitter.com/hIzjD1yvZb
— Festival Season is coming (@maenadjess) August 1, 2016
It’s a great picture. I’ll just have to forgive her for all the vexatious exclamation points. Twitter makes many people excitable. In my case, it tends to make me irritable, but what do I know from Pokemon? I never played the original game unless it was Pikachu peek-a-boo or some such shit.
I bent my rules with this week’s theme songs. I’m using different songs with the same title but they’re by artists, Squeeze and Van Morrison, I’ve already featured on the Saturday post. I make no apologies because they fit one of my themes of the week. Every time a prominent Republican says they’re voting for Hillary Clinton I say: Another domino tumbles.
We’ll begin with Squeeze since Chris Difford’s lyrics use the image of falling dominoes to make the song’s point:
Now that we’ve gone “down like a domino,” it’s time for some free-association word play from Van the Man:
Van just wants to hear some rhythm and blues music on on on the radio. Who can argue with that? If you care to, let’s duke it out after the break.
Wingnut vs. Wingnut
In rare praise of Senator Mike Lee (R-LDS.) Continue reading Wingnut vs. Wingnut
A Place to Rest in Their Own Damn Country
We are unkind, right now: There are relatively few dedicated Muslim cemeteries around the country, so many Muslim communities use sections of other cemeteries to bury their dead. In Dudley, the proposal from the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester has been met with angry comments at local meetings. “You want a Muslim cemetery? Fine. Put it in your backyard, not mine,” Daniel Grazulis said during a zoning meeting in February, drawing a round of applause. Jason Talerman, a lawyer for the Islamic Society, said he believes the opposition is rooted in Islamophobia. “They like to say it under the guise … Continue reading A Place to Rest in Their Own Damn Country
On Fighting For Those Who Fight Against You
Charlie: Before beginning, and in fairness to the good people of Menomonie, Wisconsin, whose voting record we examined earlier Tuesday afternoon, let us remember that Texas is the home office for climate denialists among our elected representatives. It begins at the top with Tailgunner Ted Cruz, who’s been spouting the stupid on this subject heavily for the last few weeks. It runs down through Governor Greg Abbott and indicted attorney general Ken Paxton. And it runs deeply through the Texas congressional delegation, which includes some leading intellectual giants like Lamar Smith and Louie Gohmert, although, to be fair to those other worthies, … Continue reading On Fighting For Those Who Fight Against You
Today on Tommy T’s obsession with the Freeperati – an Oi for an Oi edition
Every time I think The Darnold can’t get any stupider – every freaking time – he proves me wrong.
The bar is officially on the ground now, and can be lowered no further.
Witness – Eye Yi Yi !
Trump’s favorite Bible teaching: “An eye for an eye,” of course
Trump’s favorite Bible teaching: “An eye for an eye,” of course
Hot Air ^ | April 14, 2016 | AllahpunditPosted on 4/14/2016 1:16:18 PM by C19fan
Via BuzzFeed, I’m going to be bold and pronounce this the single Trumpiest thing he’s said since the campaign began. Really! Trumpier than him goofing on McCain for being taken prisoner in Vietnam, Trumpier than him goofing on his fans by claiming they’d stick with him even if he shot someone in broad daylight. I’m a lapsed Catholic turned nonbeliever so I’ll let the faithful among our readers correct me, but isn’t this … one of the worst possible answers that a Christian could give to this question?
An “eye for an eye” does appear in the Bible, true, but it’s Old Testament; it was specifically repudiated by Jesus himself in the gospel of Matthew in favor of “turn the other cheek,” as John McCormack notes. The whole point of Christianity, I thought, is to resist vengeance and embrace forgiveness, and it’s captured nowhere more succinctly than in the rejection of “an eye for an eye.”
So here’s Trump, who’s been half-heartedly pandering to evangelicals since last summer, deciding that the lesson from the Bible that sticks with him is the one about, um, revanchism, which Jesus instructed his disciplines to ignore. It’s like naming Baal your favorite member of the holy trinity.
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Let’s see :
Freeper (more often than not) = evangelistic Christian. The “holier than thou” wars at Freeperville have been going on since I started observing them, and show no signs of letting up.
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Also:
Freeper (overwhelming majority) = Trump-humper.
Are these two trains on a collision course in this thread?
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To: C19fan
Is that in Four Corinthians or Two Exodus?
2 posted on 4/14/2016 1:18:49 PM by nickcarraway
“mkjessup” (whose namesake went to military prison for the rest of his natural life, if I recall correctly) is here to quote from the Gospel Of Charlie Daniels :
To: C19fan
From the book of Daniels, CHARLIE Daniels …
“Well, you know what’s wrong with the world today
People done gone and put their Bibles away
They’re living by the law of the jungle not the law of the land
The Good Book says it so I know it’s the truth
An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth
You better watch where you go and remember where you been
That’s the way I see it I’m a Simple Man.”WORKS FOR ME.
3 posted on 4/14/2016 1:19:22 PM by mkjessup (The GOPe IS the “Enemy Within” !!)
“Simple” doesn’t even begin to cover it. “Drooling Moron” comes closer.
To: nickcarrawayIs that in Four Corinthians or Two Exodus?
It’s from St. Donald’s letter to the Coloradans.
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To: dragnet2
Mock Cruz and his faith all you want, but Trump’s favorite verse of what to do is where Jesus is telling us not to do. Obviously, Trump has no understanding of the context.
33 posted on 4/14/2016 1:46:13 PM by 5thGenTexan
To: C19fan
Uh oh. Here we go!
To: 5thGenTexanMock Cruz and his faith all you want,At least Trump refers to the bible rather than pushing some Seven Mountains Dominionist garbage that Terd Snuz believes in.
49 posted on 4/14/2016 2:07:16 PM by The Iceman Cometh (Ted Cruz polls great with young females, or is it he likes young females on a pole….I get confused)
What did I tell ya?
More after the boilers explode…
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s obsession with the Freeperati – an Oi for an Oi edition”
Malaka Of The Week: John Milkovich (Not Malkovich)
It’s throwback Thursday at the Gret Stet lege. Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: John Milkovich (Not Malkovich)
SATURDAY ODDS & SODS: SKATING AWAY ON THE THIN ICE OF A NEW DAY
Spring has sprung in New Orleans at last after a brief cold snap. I should say cool snap because the lows were in the mid-forties but that’s chilly for us in March. We ran the AC one day and the heater two days later as we rode on the NOLA weather rollercoaster. So it goes.
The Fox network was in town on Palm Sunday. They filmed a half-assed modern musical version of the Passion Play complete with crappy recent pop songs. I didn’t go downtown to gawk and have only watched thirty minutes of The Passion, but it’s a stinker. It did, however, attract something of a sideshow as the procession weaved through the streets of the Quarter. Anyone shocked? I thought not. Here’s how Advocate music writer Keith Spera described one heckler/riffer who lacked the wit of Tom Servo or Croooow:
Continue reading “SATURDAY ODDS & SODS: SKATING AWAY ON THE THIN ICE OF A NEW DAY”
Worse Things Than Poetry
I went looking for this, this week, for a friend, and it seemed to apply to this holiday: At the end of the line, where enjambment sings: zero’s the number of the Fool, the shape of the storm. It’s the beginning and the end, depending on where you start counting. It goes around and around … God has to wear masks because you’re not prepared for a faceful of infinity, but that’s not the secret. The secret is: how many masks. The “war on Christmas” nonsense makes me tired. Not outraged. Not angry. Not defensive. Tired. I am not interested in … Continue reading Worse Things Than Poetry
The Fog Of Historical Pictures: Headline News Edition
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Continue reading The Fog Of Historical Pictures: Headline News Edition
Today On Bad Idea Theatre: Pope Frank & Yelp For People
Well, nobody’s perfect not even people who need Peeple. Continue reading Today On Bad Idea Theatre: Pope Frank & Yelp For People
Everyone In Their Own Box: Pope Francis and U.S. Politics
We should listen to our spiritual leaders, always, unless they’re advocating something that would take us out of power, in which case they should just talk nonsense like angels and blessings and “prayers up” and shit: Still, some of those who were listening took issue with his reference to issues Congress considers in its purview, such as climate change. Inhofe, a leading voice denying climate change exists, says that programs to control carbon emissions would hurt the poor with rising energy costs more than they would save the planet. And Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., warns that the pope might have … Continue reading Everyone In Their Own Box: Pope Francis and U.S. Politics
Saturday Odds & Sods: The Obvious Child
Despite the whole Equinox thing, it’s still summer in New Orleans. I’ve been sweating like Orson Welles in The Long Hot Summer, my Paul Newman days are long gone. In other news, we had our umpteenth boil water order of the year, which means a lot of literal-minded folks didn’t bathe. I’m married to a microbiologist and we, well I, spit on that portion of the order. Even worse than stinky people, the boil orders bring out the same, inane jokes on social media. I wish I could bribe them to make it stop but I can’t. This one, by a crony of mine, is actually not bad:
https://twitter.com/AccidentalCajun/status/647001936038789120
Dr. A loves the Autumnal Equinox because one can stand an egg upright on the counter. Here’s an old picture of our late, great Torti Window and an egg:
As you can see above, some things never change: our messy housekeeping and the red plastic Proteus cup. Let’s move on to weightier topics.
Pope Frank is visiting America for the first time this week. He may be one of the few people to NOT get booed in Philadelphia unless, that is. some Republican politicians show up there. I’m not a Catholic but Dr. A was raised in the church. Like most sentient American Catholics, she has reservations about the church’s stance on many social issues. The genius of Pope Frank is that he has done what polite people do when there’s an ongoing, onerous discussion: he’s changed the subject. In this case to subjects more congenial to American liberals: poverty and the environment. He hasn’t changed the church’s stands on social issues but he’s signaled that he’s more tolerant and flexible. It’s worked thus far but the most important thing is his warm and pastoral nature. He’s managed to charm this atheist into thinking there’s some hope for the Vatican, after all.
Pope Frank is nothing like Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI aka Rodrigo Borgia who posed the eternal question, “Turds? You brought me turds?”
They were cigars from the New World, not turds. But “Turds? You brought me turds?” became a catch phrase in our house after we binge watched The Borgias on Netflix. In the end, Pope Alexander became a turd/cigar addict. I guess it beats the hell out of being a Cameroonian pigfucker…
This week’s theme song is inspired by both Pope Frank’s visit and the first item after the break. The connection is Paul Simon who wrote The Obvious Child after Pope John Paul conducted mass at the songwriter’s personal shrine: Yankee Stadium,
Crosses in the ballpark, crosses in the ballpark. Why deny the obvious child?
We’ll start with the official video:
Dr. A and I saw the Rhythm of the Saints tour when it came to New Orleans. It was a spectacular show. Here’s Simon and his crack band playing The Obvious Child in Central Park:
I made my peace many years ago with the fact that, as much as I admire him as an artist, Paul Simon is not a very nice man. He’s also a very short, vain man. In the live clip, he’s wearing boots with high heels and a toupee. He stopped wearing the rug about 10 or 15 years ago. I’m not sure if it had anything to do with this:
We go from toupees on the table to crosses in the ballpark. Why deny the obvious child? Something else is obvious at this point, it’s time for the break. See you on the other side of this life.
‘God is Not Angry Daddy’
Go read all of these right now. They just keep drawing the circle smaller and smaller, like the point is who you keep out. A. Continue reading ‘God is Not Angry Daddy’
Saturday Odds & Sods: Wrecking Ball
I’m not feeling particularly destructive this week but the heat is getting to me. We’re on target to break a record that nobody wants to break: consecutive days of highs of 90+ degrees. We’re at 48 days and counting and the record is 51. I’m just trying to stay cool, which is why I posted Stuart Davis’ Swing Landscape. Ain’t nothing cooler than that, y’all.
In other local news, some knucklehead tried to move a house in Uptown New Orleans and it got stuck for several days on General Pershing Street between Camp and Magazine, which is not far from Adrastos World HQ.
It’s half a shotgun house sliced lengthwise, which was being moved to another lot where it was to rejoin its woody mate, replacing a circa 1970’s house. I believe the other house was demolished, which brings us to this week’s theme song. Make that theme songs, 3 different tunes with the same title: Wrecking Ball. We begin with a Wrecking Ball written by Neil Young and recorded by Emmylou Harris as the title track of an atmospheric album she made with producer Daniel Lanois in 1995:
Our second song reflects another theme this week, Wrecking Ball as album title. This more political song was written and recorded by some guy from Jersey:
Our final Wrecking Ball is wielded by Joe Walsh. It comes from Joe’s fine 2012 album, Analog Man, which was co-produced by Jeff Lynne. I guess that’s why it sounds like the James Gang meets ELO:
Please follow the bouncing wrecking ball after the break.
Gospel of Athenae 1:1-15: Fuck This Guy
Behold, a massive jerkoff sits at the controls of the North Mississippi Daily Journal: I don’t write a column often, but as publisher and CEO of the Journal there are times when I feel a responsibility to share my thoughts on a subject and ensure our company is not misunderstood based on our job to report the news and share both sides of a story. I’ll also preface the following thoughts by saying if you don’t believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the source of authority that trumps all others, you’re not likely to agree with … Continue reading Gospel of Athenae 1:1-15: Fuck This Guy
Bloomin’ Good News
Cartoonist, political satirist, and curator of Binkley’s closet of horrors, Berkeley Breathed, has announced Bloom County’s return to the funny papers. I have a funny feeling that the billionaire blowhard’s candidacy might have something to do with it. Trump looks as if he’s wearing one of Bill the Cat’s hairballs on his head, after all. This post is an excuse to post one of my favorite Bloom County strips. It requires a set-up. For many years, quite by accident, I lived near the domiciles of religious cults. In San Francisco, I lived on Bush Street a few doors down from … Continue reading Bloomin’ Good News