As a gamer, I can relate to people who get wrapped up in a game. This hobby can often be detrimental to our mental health, and out wallets. Mobile games are especially manipulative, and there are countless stories of people spending thousands on “free” software with microtransactions.

What I’m less forgiving of is people who commit crimes to pay for their addiction. So when Rev. Lawrence Kozak was caught having spent over 40k in microtransactions in games such as Candy Crush and Mario Cart, he was quick to blame his addiction:

When interviewed by detectives in 2022, Kozak said he was seeking counseling for his addiction to playing and spending money on online games, according to the affidavit. He said the money was not spent on gambling, but rather to “power up” — gain an advantage in the games he was playing.

It sounds pretty far fetch that this isn’t gambling, but I can speak with authority that people have spent more than that on bullshit cosmetics and other useless crap in these manipulative mobile games. Still, it doesn’t excuse the fact that this man embezzled church funds for his own personal gain. Now, he faces the legal consequences of this. I have some doubts about whether or not he will be properly punished: religious wrongdoers have a habit of getting off easy.

Is it really too much to ask that justice be served? Come on Pennsylvania: make sure you do the right thing and send his ass to jail!

Imagine you steal more than $80,000 from your employer by selling a property and then pocketing the cash. How much time should you be in jail for? A few years maybe? Well, if you’re a religious figure, that number can be brought down to the low low price of only 8 months.

That’s how much time Erin Gullickson, who was the former pastor for the Our Savior Lutheran Church, got: an 8 months in prison handed down by an Illinois court. She’s also been ordered to pay back the 82 grand she stole, with the judge demanding that it be paid back in a year’s time. Unless she joins another church and starts stealing from them, I doubt she’ll be able to make good on it. So far, she’s only agreed to pay back 1000 bucks a month. At this rate, it will take her roughly 7 years to square things off.

Prosecutors were obviously upset that she got the equivalent of a slap on the wrist. A few months in jail and some probation sends a pretty clear message to other would-be scammers: Do the crime, do only a small portion of the time. You see, this is a class B felony, which usually carries a maximum prison sentence of around 10 years. She got less than 10 months.

Feland also disagreed with the notion that Gullickson, who has been in custody since her conviction, should not be subject to further imprisonment. The judge sentenced Gullickson to 10 years in prison but suspended all but time already served and an additional seven months, in addition to three years of supervised probation.

Why is it that the law works differently for religious people? Do they just have to promise that they will do better and are instantly believed? She abused the trust of the people that she ministered to, and literally stole from them. What was the reason for such leniency? If this person had embezzled this money while working at a bank, would she have been given such mercy on her sentence? I highly doubt it.

This shit stinks to high heaven of religious privilege. When will we be free of this special treatment that the faithful get? My guess is never.

I feel bad for today’s young people. When I was entering my adulthood, the Internet was coming into itself, which meant that there were real opportunities for people to succeed with the invention of new technology. Today, however, all that’s been invented is new ways to scam people. The creation of cryptocurrency has tanked an estimated 2 trillion dollars from the economy. That’s not counting the 3 billion that is stolen annually by hackers, which account for almost half of their own losses. This is the grifted generation, to be sure.

Imagine now what happens when you combine the scam of crypto, with the fraud of religion? Why, you get something called INDXcoin. The brainchild of Rev. Eli Regalado, an online only pastor that congregates his virtual flock on a (former) website called victoriousgracechurch.org. The site has since been taken down, as Regalado is currently in a legal battle with State regulators, for his little scam.

Regalado and his wife did what all of these crypto hucksters do when they have people’s money: they spent it. So, while easily manipulated people sent him their savings under the promise that the proceeds would be donated to “orphans and widows”, it went instead into purchasing handbag, snowmobiles, a Range rover and countless other luxuries. Almost 300k of it went to their “church”, which again was simply a way for these people to pay themselves.

Both of these bozos were also not very experienced coders which meant that their crypto and virtual exchange were sloppy messes that was given a “zero out of 10” grade by a company that specializes in evaluating crypto security. It mattered little, as all of the transactions were done via Regalado’s Venmo account, or by direct money transfers. Since they were both spending the money so quickly, they routinely had to close their exchange to avoid running out of money. They were essentially operating as a bank, and then spending any deposits they received. The virtual coin they were given was merely a representation of what they thought was in investment in new technology. In reality, it was nothing more than a basic con with a fresh coat of virtual paint.

What’s crazy in all of this is the fact that the 3.9 million they stole from their own flock is a civil matter, and not a criminal one. This means that they face no jail time for this huge scam. All the victims can hope for is that some of the money can be recouped. Judging by how quickly these bozos burned through the funds, it’s not looking too good.

The term death cult is not often used to describe Christianity, but it should be. I believe it is only because we have become numb to the sinister nature of this religion. It seems that every so often, we need to be reminded that their obsession with the afterlife is a driving force of their ideology.

How about something so terrifying, you would think it the plot of some horror movie: a mentally deranged woman, fed the lie of the afterlife, killed her young son in the hope that doing so would send him to be with “Jesus and God”.

The report said when James Short and the officers went into the bathroom, they discovered the 11-month-old who had been stabbed. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.

When interviewing April Short following her arrest, the court document said she admitted to hurting the child. Her two children told authorities that she told them she was doing it because then the child could “be with Jesus and God.”

This horror show is courtesy of a lifetime of delusion, and the absolving of personal responsibility by claiming it to be the work of a higher power. God is merely the unleashed ego of people who wish to behave in troubling ways that their own conscience cannot bare.

For how long did people ignore her troubling behavior because it masqueraded as religious devotion? This is how pervasive this death cult has become: even as their adherents tell us openly that they pray for the day we are all destroyed so that they no longer have to live in a world that challenges their beliefs. What else is heaven but a safe-space for Christians, who want to bask in the certainty of their choices. And where else but a make-believe fantasy land could offer them such satisfaction, when even they cannot agree on matters as trivial as the to which part of the triune nature of their god is more important?

There’s no denying that cars are dangerous. In the United States alone, vehicles account for roughly 40,000 deaths a year, with the numbers increasing year on year. The problem is particularly bad in states like Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina, which have twice the average road fatalities when compared to other states. One place that tends to have a much lower average is Washington, DC. Perhaps people tend to drive more conservatively there.

Still, it doesn’t mean some people don’t driving recklessly. On October 4th, Reverend Samuel Holloway, drove his car dangerously close to a small family, pinning a 6 year old boy’s foot was under his SUV’s tires after he accelerated past a crosswalk they were using. Following the frightening incident, it appeared that the man was pulling his vehicle over when instructed by a witness, but instead he quickly fled the scene.

Unaware that his accident had been caught on camera, when Holloway finally turned himself in (after 2 weeks of being in what he called a “mental fog”)  it turns out that he also had a suspended license. Now, rather than getting jail time, his attorney is requested leniency, claiming that there were extenuating circumstances that led him to both hit the family, and drive away.

Holloway’s motion goes on to say that at the time of the accident, he had not eaten or taken his blood pressure medication. The document states that a “stressful day,” “high blood pressure” and “mental confusion” following the crash, all contributed to Holloway’s “uncharacteristic, unacceptable and unreasonable flight response.”

Holloway is trying to use his status in the community to skirt responsibility and jail. It’s unsurprising. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he wants instead to be given a slap on the wrist. He’s likely to get his wish, as American judges tend to have massive blinders when it comes to the priestly class.

While there hasn’t been an official decision, I’m willing to bet that he walks away scot-free. It’s the great advantage that pious people can still boast. All they need to do is look sad, say they love Jesus, and the rest is forgiven. No wonder they love their religion so much; it’s a goddamn get out of jail free card!