Condom Papa: The Pope Blinded By The Fantasy of Abstinence

The pope joins the ranks of
Tony Perkins and James Dobson

Late again. The Vatican always comments on things so late in the game you wonder why it bothers at all. Any important statement by the Vatican on AIDS should have been made in 1982 or the latest 1984. Then again, what can you expect from a spiritual guide that apologizes to Galilleo for putting him under house arrest (because of his solar-centric theory) 400 years after the fact. The Vatican also dragged its heals during the Holocaust at the cost of a great many lives. When John XXIII, Paul VI and John-Paul I uttered words about change, all the prelates recoiled in horror! (Note: the death of John-Paul is still questioned to this day). Now it comments on something killing people by the millions trying to prove prevention techniques are not effective:

Pope: Condoms not the answer to fighting AIDS

By The Associated Press
03.17.2009 12:33pm EDT

Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that the distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Benedict has never before spoken explicitly on condom use although he has stressed that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease.

“You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

Some priests and nuns working with victims of the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa question the church’s opposition to condoms.

The pope also said that he intends to make an appeal for “international solidarity” for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn.

Since Africa has lately become what the Americas were back in the 16th century, the Church espouses abstinence and "legitimacy" (Roman Catholic marriage) to burgeoning countries with big, healthy, Catholic convert populations. Might it be that Benedict wants to get a sizable share of the continent before Rick Warren goes for the gold (South Africa)? Maybe. So what if people die because their country's prevention programs sucked. The moral righteousness of the Roman Catholic Church must be maintained. It's picking itself up from child abuse scandals, dusting itself off, and standing proudly erect for morality. A rather warped morality, but a morality nonetheless.

This morality comes from an arch-conservative mind that started out in life as a Hitler Youth and wound up (before the papacy) becoming the prefect of The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition (wikipedia) Isn't ironic that a German Hitler Youth should become head of the Inquisition? What theologian and scholar Hans Kung wrote about the papacy of John-Paul II would be doubly applicable to the current one:

A mediocre, rigid, and more conservative episcopate will be the lasting legacy of this papacy.

He could also have said avaricious, hidabound, narrow minded and fascist. Perhaps Kung's most famous quote applies to Benedict as well:

"There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions without dialogue among the religions."

I seriously doubt that Benedict will initiate any serious dialogue with anyone who goes up against his stance on condoms and abstinence.

Just a thought.

Scandal! Cheney Confesses Undying Love for Limbaugh!!

Will The Tabloids Be Able To Tell The WHOLE Story?

I swear the entire net is laughing about Cheney's statement that he LOVES Rush Limbaugh! Google "Cheney Loves Limbaugh" and you will find (I swear) the first 100 entries dedicated to that one statement. As if people didn't know they were twins separated at birth!

And, yes, people are laughing. They are not coming to the defense of either party. They are content to carry the joke further and further. You think Michael Steele - the perpetual gaffe machine - was entertaining. These two might wipe him off the front pages of The Onion.
Cartoonists are already exhausted and have taken up enough ink and lead to sink a battleship. Just view them today... and for the next week.

Ridiculous? I hope they profess love for each other forever! When a V.P. who had an approval rating below 20 and a broadcaster who thinks he's the head of the Republican Party, but is thought of NEGATIVELY by over 65% of the American public, they can't help but drag each other down! These two guys who glory in a kind of fascism of their owning making should be pictured in "love nests" in every paper in America!


And the love Dick feels for Rush is not unrequited!: (from Salon.com - Cheney's interview on Limbaugh's show in April, 07)

According to an official transcript released by the White House, Limbaugh asked, "You and the President both have decried the theatrics of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and a number of the Democrats, and ... I, frankly, need to ask you if you really think it's theatrics, or is this who they really are? Is this what they really intend, to lose this war, to make sure we come home defeated?"

Yes, the love shines through! Will Dick leave Lynn? Will Rush give Dick an engagement ring and the keys to his (very) secure Palm Beach residence?

Stay tuned...

But while your waiting, here are two very funny (and very revealing) videos for you to enjoy.

THIS BEATS ALL>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now You Know Why Christofascists Have a
Higher Divorce Rate Than The Rest of the Country

A Florida man wearing an "I ♥ My Marriage" t-shirt was arrested last night for allegedly choking his wife during an argument in their Tampa-area home. Bradley Gellert, a 32-year-old financial consultant, was busted by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies and booked into jail on a felony domestic battery by strangulation charge.... The "I ♥ My Marriage" shirt was a promotional item tied to the 2008 movie "Fireproof," a Christian-themed film starring Kirk Cameron. The movie, a hit in evangelical circles, centers on a fireman's religious awakening and his simultaneous effort to save a failing marriage.
HT: Dan Savage


This would be hysterical if it weren't so pointedly true-to-life. The thread is classic: Man chokes wife, is arrested, mug shot of man shows him wearing a t-shirt "I (heart) My Marriage." T-shirt was a promotional item for a Christian movie about man being born-again and trying to save his marriage.

It's almost unbelievable. But you know it's all true. What could make a man angry enough to choke his wife? Maybe she wasn't "submissive" enough.

Just a thought.


P.S.: Here's the trailer for the movie. I never heard of it. Maybe its "gala premier" was at the local Walmart. (Makes sense since the red carpet would be cheaper).

George W. Bush Presidential Library Website: Iraq? What Iraq? We Can't Remember!

Even when he's supposed to be "retired",
Bush's stupidity spreads. It's sort of like gangrene:

Think Progress:

Bush’s official 483-word bio on the presidential library website doesn’t have a single mention of the Iraq war. In fact, the man who once declared “I’m a war president,” has just one short paragraph devoted to national security issues — with no mention of Iraq or Afghanistan.

For the guy who called himself a "war president" this is stupid beyond belief. Maybe, in a strange way, HIS OWN LIBRARY is trying to distance itself from him! Sad. Really sad.

Michael Steele: That Wild And Crazy Guy!

The Republicans: They Sure Can Pick 'Em!

Michael Steele, the not-so-de facto head of the Republican Party is determined to keep up the hilarity after Sarah Palin.
(365gay.com):

Since then, Steele has compared Republicans to alcoholics on a 12-step program and called Rush Limbaugh “incendiary and ugly,” though he has apologized to the conservative radio host. Steele has also promised to give the party a “hip-hop makeover” that would be “off the hook” and would attract even “one-armed midgets.”

“And I’m not gonna jump up and down and beat people upside the head about it, and tell gays that they’re wrong for wanting to aspire to that, and all of that craziness,” he continued.

Think Progess' Faiz Shakir on MSNBC:

When asked how long he thought Steele would last as chairman, Faiz said, “I hope he stays around forever. … He’s great for comic relief.”

Of course, since he's already been parodied on SNL (see below), he will absolutely win over the Republican Party - just think of Sarah Palin!And just think how much he'll be adored by David Letterman and Conan O'Brien! He'll be able to fill the big CV (Comedy Vacuum) left by Dubya!

America Must Be Getting Smarter: Coulter(geist)'s Book Sales Are Down!

Maybe Conservatives Can't Afford To Buy Her Books!

She's always thought of herself as the arbiter of Conservative Issues, so I guess it was inevitable that with the new direction Congress is headed in, Ann Coulter's book sales would be down. Or as far down as the I.Q. of the Republican Party. But I can't see why they weren't down long before now; Bush dragged the Republican mindset down for eight years! But, I guess, better late than never.

And just in time: between Rush Limbaugh becoming the "de facto" head of the Republican Party, the hip-hop, flip-flop reasoning of RNC Chairman Michael Steele, people shooting themselves (or others) in churches, and Republican governors refusing money to help their constituents, "conservative" may become as dirty a word as "liberal" was made out to be by Coulter.

The country was warned by many people that conservatives weren't always that smart, but now people are starting to wake up: maybe "compassionate conservatism" really IS an oxymoron.

Here's the low-down on Coultergeist's latest screed:

(ThinkProgress.com)

But with it moving steadily down the best-seller list, it looks certain that Guilty will fall far short of matching her earlier results. Her 2006 polemic, Godless: The Church of Liberalism, sold 279,100 copies in hardcover...Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terror sold 396,600 hardcover copies, and 2002’s Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right sold 333,100 copies.

Poor Ann! We do hope she's got a nestegg to fall back on (it's too much to wish for a pile of manure!) Why am I being (almost) as nasty as Coulter? Maybe because books like hers (and people like her) cause a lot of pain to a lot of people: she engenders hatred and she's proud of it. She's made "liberal" a pejorative term. Bear with me - the following is an example:

Tenn. gay-friendly church shooter hoped attack would spur more

By The Associated Press
03.13.2009 7:40am EDT

(Knoxville, Tennessee) An unemployed truck driver seething over liberalism told police he opened fire in a church last year because it harbored gays and multiracial families and he hoped others would follow his example.

He railed against extending constitutional rights to terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, about the news media being “the propaganda wing of the Democrat Party,” and how he would like to kill every major Democrat in Congress. But he said they were inaccessible and decided to go after “the foot soldiers, the (expletive) liberals that vote in these traitorous people.”

[Adkisson] concluded, “I’d like to encourage other like-minded people to do what I’ve done. If life ain’t worth living anymore don’t just kill yourself. Do something for your country before you go. Go kill liberals.”

Yes, I know that she just wouldn't wish anyone like that would do something so despicable because of her books. Then again, if he did it while clutching a copy of her book or had it in his truck ... Publicity by any other name would be ... Ann Coulter.

Guns and Religion II: Waiting For The Bling?

Can you endure being a VIRGIN forever?

Abstinence may be o.k. when you KNOW you'll be married to someone and you've set the date. It's not so great when you don't know WHEN you'll be married. Because like everything else, traditional marriage, the kind "good girls" dream about, depends on MONEY. If either you or your future spouse are too young and have no money, chances are you'll be putting off the wedding but not putting off the deed.

NOTE: our economic downturn will spawn a LOT of unmarried parents. So how is "abstinence" going to be promoted?

In its infinite wisdom, Iowa's Abstinence Mission, posted billboards in 2005 that said "Wait for the Bling." To the best of my knowledge, life for teenage Iowans didn't change significantly and neither did the numbers for teen pregnancies. Abstinence is a hard enough sell without adding teenagers and poverty to the mix - then it becomes impossible. And the billboard sends another message: "...and if the guy doesn't give you a big one (diamond, that is), keep your virginity and dump him!"

Oh, the hypocrisy of Christofascists when it comes to morality: they'll teach it in any way they can and with whatever means at their disposal, but applying the teaching on themselves?! "Jesus Christ! What do you want from us?"

We're still smarting from the last big volley of "abstinence only" hypocrisy: Bristol Palin, the daughter of Mrs. Mooseburger and prime Christofascist, Sarah Palin. Not only did Bristol not believe in abstinence, she apparently didn't want Levi's baby either. The lowest cut of all, however, became common knowledge the other day:

But in a new interview with Star Magazine, Levi's sister Mercede Johnston says Bristol actually broke up with Levi more than a month ago, is not attending school and rarely lets her baby daddy see their young son. Mercede also says Bristol even told him that she hates him and, when she learned she was pregnant, wished the baby wasn't his.

Apparently, Levi is also far from being a hands-on dad. Said Mercede: "Levi tries to visit Tripp every single day, but Bristol makes it nearly impossible for him. She tells him he can't take the baby to our house because she doesn't want him around 'white trash.' She treats him so badly!"

O.K., let's step back and look at the sequence of events:

1. "Trig" Palin is born with Downs Syndrome to (supposedly) Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Sarah is Bristol Palin's mother.
2. Mom is picked as a running mate by Republican presidential nominee, John McCain
3. Mom garners a reputation as the darling of the Christian Right because she is staunchly pro-life and wants abstinence-only education in schools.
4. It is announced that Bristol Palin is pregnant.
5. It is also announced that Bristol Palin and boyfriend Levi Johnston, the child's father, are engaged and plan to be married. The elder Palins insist that it is not a shotgun wedding.
   
6. Bristol Palin gives birth to Tripp Palin-Johnston (sic)
   
7. Levi Johnston's sister, Mercede, tells the press that Bristol and Levi broke up last month and that Bristol hated Levi well before the birth of Tripp. Apparently, those public appearances during the campaign were just acting on the part of Bristol.
   
8. Even though this extremely dysfunctional family is not what the Christian Right terms "ideal" let alone "traditional" Sarah Palin still courts the public for a V.P. run in 2012.
   

Wait for the bling? You gotta be kidding! With life like this, you don't need a TV or computer to be entertained. Let's keep an eye out for what the Christofascists have in store for us next in the abstinence department. They'll be tackling human nature AND the economy! It ought to be priceless!