World News Korner

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Courtesy of Slate:

This spring, a new school for exorcists opened in Illinois. The Pope Leo XIII Institute for the “education & training of priests in the holy ministry of exorcism and deliverance” was launched at the Mundelein Seminary in February — when the first cohort of trainees arrived for a 10-day seminar. For just $1,500 (plus $960 room and board; check and credit card accepted; donations welcome and tax-deductible), priests received instruction from some top exorcists — using a curriculum that was reportedly pre-approved by a committee of credentialed bishops.

The time was ripe. Just a month before the school’s quiet opening, headlines the world over broadcast news that exorcism is back. The Catholic Church is training a new class of priests to perform exorcisms: allegedly, to meet a growing public demand. “Diabolical possessions are on the increase as a result of people subscribing to occultism,” noted Father Francesco Bamonte, president of the Italy-based International Association for Exorcists. “The few exorcists that we have in the dioceses are often not able to handle the enormous number of requests for help.”

So to be clear, there are parishioners asking for help with mental illness, depression, or some other easily identified malady, and in response priests are frightening them into believing they are possessed and then offering to traumatize them by subjecting them to a ritual that should only find acceptance on a movie screen.

Catholic priests who have spoken openly about exorcism tout a predictable line, as reported by the Telegraph in January: “The rise in demonic cases is a result of more people dabbling in practices such as black magic, paganism, Satanic rites and Ouija boards, often exploring the dark arts with the help of information readily found on the internet.” Never mind that I haven’t seen a Ouija board since the ’90s — the church says, as the church has said for decades, that our spiritually plastic ways are guiding us into Satan’s den.

Other observers point to the growing influence of Pentecostalism, with its direct and physical experience of Godc—cor films like “The Rite” (2011), which was based on a real American priest.

Exorcism is “the practice of expelling evil spirits.” By popular accounts, crazy things happen when those demons are given the boot: “There are foul smells, vomiting, foaming at the mouth, foul language, psychological attack as well as a physical attack, languages you’ve never heard, items flying across the room (what we call poltergeist activity) … voices that sound like they came out of ‘The Exorcism’ movie,” Rev. Steven Maness, a New Jersey-based exorcist, tells me.

In theory, only Catholic priests with permission from superiors can conduct exorcisms. But recent decades have given rise to gaggles of rogue agents — many of whom charge a hefty fee for their services, as opposed to affiliated priests who usually claim to exorcise for free. Some speculate that the church’s new exorcism push is an attempt to steal back authority from these unaffiliated mavericks. It’s “a response to public demand, but it’s also about quality control,” John Allen, an author and Vatican expert, noted in January. “A lot of it is fairly dodgy theoretically — they are self-appointed exorcists running around purporting to be acting on behalf of the Church.” In 2008, a senior Italian priest made £3 million ($5 million) by performing unsanctioned exorcisms at his “House of the Sainted Archangels” in Florence.

Oh I see. So the movie industry frightens impressionable people into believing in demonic possession and then religiously garbed charlatans make money off of their ignorance and pain.

The correct thing to do when you meet somebody claiming to be possessed by a demon is to get them immediate psychological counseling, NOT exacerbate their condition while profiting off of their illness.

Go ahead, somebody ask me again what I find objectionable about religion.

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Courtesy of Raw Story:

A GOP candidate for North Carolina State Senate — who supports the state’s ban on same-sex marriage — has been revealed as a former female impersonator and drag show emcee by the co-owner of the club where he once worked.

Steve Wiles, 34, of Kernersville, NC, worked at Club Odyssey until 2010 under the name ‘Mona Sinclair,’ former club owner Randy Duggins told the Winston-Salem Journal.

According to Duggins, Wiles was a frequent patron in the late 1990s at his nightclub where gay, lesbian and straight clientele gathered for weekly shows featuring female impersonators. Around 2001 and 2002, Wiles began working for Duggins as the show director and performance booker, while emceeing the show as Miss Mona Sinclair.

“He is Mona Sinclair,” Duggins said, referring to Wiles’ female persona.

In multiple interviews about his past Wiles has alternately denied and confirmed his history.

“That’s not me,” Wiles said three weeks ago, referring to questions about Mona Sinclair.

This week, Wiles’ campaign website, Facebook page and Twitter account were shuttered.

However after first denying that he was Miss Mona Sinclair, Wiles finally fessed up in an interview with the Business Insider:

"I think that everyone has their own choices to make and I'm fine with everyone making their own. For me, from a religious standpoint, just for my life, for me, it just was not something that I wanted to continue," Wiles said of his drag performances. "Of course it was an embarrassment, but you know, you move on. You live life, and you change, and you make yourself what you want yourself to be. And that's where I am now."

Wiles declined to answer when Business Insider asked whether he considers himself an "ex-gay."

"No, no, I really wont make any comments on that," he said.

Oh yeah, he's gay.

And yes I DO realize that not all female impersonators or transvestites are homosexual, but in this case I think we all know what is the likeliest possibility.

Just another self loathing homosexual stuffed into a GOP closet, too frightened to live his life in the open and without remorse.




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Courtesy of ABC News:

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University following protests by some faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War.

Rice said in a statement Saturday that she informed Rutgers President Robert Barchi that she was declining the invitation to speak at the graduation.

"Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families," Rice said. "Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time."

The school's board of governors had voted to pay $35,000 to the former secretary of state under President George W. Bush and national security adviser for her appearance at the May 18 ceremony. Rutgers was also planning to bestow Rice with an honorary doctorate.

But some students and faculty at New Jersey's flagship university had protested, staging sit-ins and saying Rice bore some responsibility for the Iraq War as a member of the Bush administration. Barchi and other school leaders had resisted the calls to disinvite Rice, saying the university welcomes open discourse on controversial topics.

Damn, mad props to the students and faculty of Rutgers for taking a stand against a member of one of the most corrupt and treasonous administrations in American history.

Personally I cannot imagine why ANY institute of learning would allow this criminal onto their campus.

In fact I don't know why those in the Bush administration are not sitting in a cell somewhere waiting for their imminent execution.

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I swear this may be the best performance by the President yet, I laughed out loud quite a number of times, and was very impressed with Obama's fearlessness at taking jabs at himself, his policies, and his opponents.

The end where Kathleen Sebelius runs up to help with a computer malfunction is priceless.

Here is the transcript for those in a hurry.

P.S. Here is a picture of the First Lady in her stunning dress which is actually getting more attention on social media sties than the President's comedic speech.

I believe the word here is, "Dayum!"

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This was the blind item from back in September of 2012, courtesy of Crazy Days and Nights:

This female celebrity on Dancing With The Stars has been hitting on a dancer from day one. He keeps turning her down. She asked him why and he said it was because she was not famous enough or make enough money for him to be interested.

And, drum roll please, this was the reveal:

Bristol Palin/Maksim

Of course Maksim has never made any secret of his dislike for Bristol:

On Monday night, I found out that she went on record saying that I said something about her along the lines of, “I don’t like her because she’s still here and she’s not a good enough dancer.” Every time I’ve opened my mouth about Bristol, I’ve been nothing but supportive…For her to come out on Monday night and totally smear my name the way she did, that’s just completely uncalled for…I have no idea where she got it from, but wherever she got it from, shame on her and shame on whoever told her that.

At that time it seemed that the kerfuffle was just over her lack of dancing ability, and Sarah Palin fans keeping her on the show in spite of that. But now it looks like the tension might have been due to something more.

Oh well, just another tidbit of information for Levi to use in court this summer.

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Cliven Bundy and his GI Joe wannabes.

Okay, so for a few days now I have been trying to sit down and write about the goings on at the Bundy Ranch.

However, and this is no exaggeration, the moment I thought I had an interesting take on the situation, more crap would suddenly appear that was just as explosive and worthy of mention.

So I decided to just do a roundup of all of the most recent events and hopefully it will not prove to overwhelming or confusing.

First there is a response from the Metro police officers who were there on the day of the standoff:

Metro police officers who were on the front lines when Cliven Bundy’s army of militiamen drew weapons and faced them down are speaking out. Officers say that they “feared for their lives.”

Assistant Sheriff Joe Lombardo explained that “There was a possibility of somebody just having an accidental discharge causing a blood bath, because the individuals that were showing up, the militia quote unquote, were armed to the teeth.”

According to 8 News NOW I-Team, “At least some of the militia members who pointed weapons at police officers during the confrontation may have wanted a violent outcome and tried to incite one.”

Sgt. Tom Jenkins laid out the general feeling among the thirty police officers that stood between federal agents and Bundy’s domestic terrorists. “We didn’t show any fear that day, but I can tell you, we all thought in the back of our minds, we all thought it was going to be our last day on earth, if it went bad,”he explained.

Now remember these are not the federal agents that the Teabaggers are always vilifying, and claiming do not have rights in Nevada. These are local law enforcement who were simply doing their jobs.

Of course to the sane it is equally indefensible to threaten federal agents doing their jobs as well.

However threatening is apparently what these lunatics are all about.

This from the Daily Kos:

Within the past few days, local 8 News NOW received Police Reports and other information that show Bundy's Anti-American, Anti-Government thugs:

- "poured lighter fluid around" news trucks,
- Issued "bomb threats" against Hotels where Federal employees were lodging,
- told hotel staff they would be "dragged out in the parking lot and shot"
- Bundy thugs asked Metro Police Sgt Jenkins if "he was ready to die"

And when these gun toting dipshits are not threatening others, they are fighting amongst themselves:

Vicious infighting among those remaining at the camp – estimated at less than a hundred – broke out a little more than two weeks after heavily armed militiamen forced federal agents to back down from a planned roundup of Bundy’s illegally grazing cattle from public lands. After vowing to stay on and protect Bundy – who then stumbled on the national stage with an outpouring of racist commentary – the remaining “Patriots,” who have been raising fear levels among local residents, have begun feuding. And it has been revealing.

Apparently, someone within one of the major factions at the camp, the Oath Keepers, relayed word of the imminent drone attack to his leaders. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes responded by pulling his people out of what they called “the kill zone” (the area the supposed drone would be striking). When the other militiamen learned that the Oath Keepers had pulled out, they were outraged.

Of course there was no drone attack, and only a moron would think there might be one, which caused the militia men to call the Oath Keepers "traitors" and cowards for leaving the "battlefield."

(And yes they do refer to the ranch as the "kill zone" so you can imagine the level of paranoia floating around that place.)

The Oath Keepers responded to these charges by making a few of their own:

RHODES (One of the Oath Keepers) : … and this is the tip of the iceberg of the cluster out there. One of our guys from Montana, Rick Delap, who was there from the beginning he’s been out there for 2 weeks in the dirt. The day of this confrontation [with Steve & John Bidler] I come to find out he [Rick Delap] had to draw on somebody. Two of the Mountain men guys came up to him — were aggressing on him. Then one of them ran back to his vehicle and grabbed an AR and came back with an AR in his hand and Rick had to draw on him. And those two ran off. That was this close [hand signals an inch] from Rick having to shoot that ding-a-ling. If that guy had raised his barrel, Rick would have had no choice but to shoot him.

How nobody has yet been shot at this ranch yet is beyond my comprehension.

But don't think that police, federal agents, hotel staff. and each other, are the only ones being threatened by this group.

Just take a look at how they harass a reporter who had the temerity to ask Cliven Bundy about his racist remarks:

I have seen numerous things in my life labeled a "powder keg" but I don;t think that there has been a time in recent memory where that was more apropos


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Courtesy of NBCDFW:

Open carry firearm demonstrators are complaining that police treated them like criminals Thursday night as the group staged a protest with their guns.

An email from Sgt. Ray Bush, with the Fort Worth Police Department, said Jack in the Box employees at the South Freeway location at Sycamore School Road, were scared about the armed men protesting outside of the restaurant.

“They locked themselves inside a freezer for protection out of fear the rifle-carrying men would rob them,” the email stated. “The demonstration had no signage that would have alerted anyone to their real purpose, and to our knowledge they did not attempt to contact anyone in the Fort Worth Police Department to advise us prior to the demonstration.”

Fort Worth police responded to the situation as if it was a robbery.

“I’m upset that that many officers had to arrive on the scene,” said demonstrator Edwin Haros.

Haros said that more than a dozen officers arrived at the restaurant where the group of rifle-carrying men planned a protest.

“I would estimate around 10 squad cars showed up, some with two per squad car. I believe we counted more than 15 officers showed up on scene,” Haros said.

Yes how surprising it must be that a large number of police show up to a reported robbery which includes heavily armed men.

These assholes are lucky that another citizen did not draw on them and shoot one or more of them, or that the police did not respond in a similar fashion.

It is beyond comprehension to me that these idiots think that walking around populated areas with weapons strapped to their backs or hanging off their hips is something that should be accepted by society.

Take my word for it, somebody is going to get shot eventually.

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