When you think of the word courage, what’s the first thing to cross your mind? If you happen to be gay and a Catholic living in Connecticut, that word is about to take on a disturbing new meaning:

The Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, this month is beginning a program that ministers to gays and lesbians…The Vatican-endorsed program, called Courage…was started in 1980 by the late Terence Cardinal Cooke in Manhattan “to form a spiritual support system which would assist men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love.”

It’s basically an organization that emotionally tortures gays and lesbians into giving up their joy of sex and intimacy because it doesn’t conform with what the Vatican wants.

“These are people in the Roman Catholic Church who need our care and love,” Deacon Robert Pallotti, director of the Office of the Diaconate, told the Hartford TV station. “In some cases, they have been rejected by society. They need to be accepted, affirmed and supported as Roman Catholics trying to remain faithful to church teachings.

Rejected by society, eh? Could that have anything to do with the fact that your organization continues to support the bigoted idea that what they are doing is inherently bad? Remaining “faithful” to Roman Catholic teachings is just a nice way of saying that they don’t want gay dudes fucking each other in the ass anymore.

Honestly, there is no one on this planet that needs the Vatican getting involved in their sex life. They’ve already proven that their sexual philosophies are diseased. While they condemn homosexuality, the Vatican has provided an unprecedented level of financial, legal and emotional support to child rapists. This alone should bar them from the conversation.

The program, ironically called “Courage”, is just another way for a bunch of creepy celibate dudes in robes to try and tell everyone else how to live. I’ll tell you what Courage is: it’s not putting up with deluded assholes who care more about their money, power and interests than they care about human suffering (remember, they actually think that suffering makes you closer to God). Courage is rejecting old dogmas in favor of scientific truth, even when everyone around you still cling to these ancient superstitions. And above all else, Courage is staying true to yourself, no matter what.

The Friendly Atheist has an interesting article written by two fans who recently attended a “Marriage Symposium” organized by the Illinois Family Institute and Patriots United (any time an organization has the words “Family” or “Patriot” in it, you know something racist/homophobic/ultra-conservative is going on). One of the pieces of literature at the event that intrigued me was the pamphlet entitled “77 Non-Religious Reasons to Support Man/Women Marriage“, (sounds more positive than “oppose civil rights, doesn’t it?).  This testament to ignorance has so many gems in it, I found it difficult to choose which one was my favorite…

#18: Without man/woman marriage, there will be no institution specifically protecting the right of children to be in a relationship with both parents.

[Translation: If gays are allowed to marry, parents will mysteriously be unable to have a relationship with their kids because gay sex is gross]

#22. If the love between adults were the only important factor, we would expect stepparents to be interchangeable with biological parents. But this is not generally the case.

[Translation: Because you don’t love your step-dad hard enough, “Todd and Fred” shouldn’t be allowed to care for another human being.]

#29 Same-Sex Marriage makes an implicit statement that mothers and fathers are interchangeable, and sex is irrelevant to parenting. The burden should be on those who make this strong, non-intuitive claim.

[Did religious people just say that the burden of proof is on people making extraordinary claims? Shocking. If proof can be shown that the gender of the parents makes no difference at all – say from a study conducted by the American Psychological Association– would they be willing to accept it?]

#32 Mothers and fathers each make unique contributions to the child’s development. Father’s absence creates risks in children that mother’s absence does not create.

[Translation: Dad’s are more important than moms. After all, they’re more likely to physically and sexually abuse their kids, based primarily on factors such as feelings of self worth, unemployment and substance abuse. Does that mean poor people shouldn’t have kids?]

#33 Teenage boys without fathers are at risk for juvenile delinquency, violence, criminal activity, gang membership and incarceration.

[Hey, I know a way that this kid could have not one, but two dads, making him twice as likely not to turn out shitty! Hint: it involves some degree of butt-sex]

#41 Once same sex marriage becomes legally and socially acceptable, more women will decide to raise children together. They will view this as easier than putting forth the effort of crossing the gender divide and cooperating with a man through marriage.

[Translation: Men will become increasingly marginalized because all women will magically lose their intense desire for sexual and emotional intimacy with the opposite sex, since men are such hard work that it’s not really worth it.]

#55 The judges who imposed same sex marriage in Iowa stated “The research…suggest that the traditional notion that children need a mother and father to be raised into a healthy, well-adjusted adults is based more on stereotypes than anything else.” This is not true as a general statement

[Translation: We refuse to accept any evidence that contradicts what we already know to be true.]

#57 If enough judges say enough implausible things, people will lose respect for the law.
[Translation: If the law doesn’t work to our advantage, we’ll ignore it.]

#60 By the time the activists are finished, there will be nothing left of marriage but a government registry of friendships

[Translation: if gays are allowed the same rights as everyone else, they’ll ruin it the same way they ruined Glee clubs, male cheerleading, and fashion.]

You’ll notice the document sounds like the paranoid ravings of emotionally insecure people (mostly dads) afraid of losing their place in society. It makes sense: most of these movements are populated by old, racist white people; exactly the types of folks that see their power and influence diminish in today’s society. Their fears about an uncertain future (something every generation has had to face) has found a perfect focal point in the Gay Rights Movement. And because they see themselves as crusaders working for the benefit of children, they will interpret their increasingly marginalized views as the right ones. It matters little what society itself wants: they already know the desired outcome. Now all they need to do is try and work for it. I’m happy to report that these efforts will ultimately prove futile. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this question: “were you convinced that same-sex marriage should be opposed after reading this logical juggernaut?”

Times are hard in America. Job security is eroding fast, as is the middle class. This puts everyone on edge, which would explain some of the blow-back from fans concerning my opinion that there is something fundamentally broken with the way teachers are unionized in America. Of course, that’s not to imply that I want to destroy all the rights workers have managed to harangue from the clutches of the very wealthy (far from it). I just find it strange that the prevailing attitude of many of my listeners down south concerning freedom of speech is this should not interfere with their ability to be gainfully employed. Trust me, when you aren’t an American, this idea is kind of crazy.

Take the case of Jerry Buell. He’s a teacher at Mount Dora High School in Lake County, Florida who was suspended, and later reinstated after posting a number of homophobic remarks on his Facebook account (which included many student “friends”). After learning that New York was finally allowing gay people to have the same rights as everyone else, he became so overwhelmed with disgust, he claims, that he threw up at the diner table.

The Friendly Atheist first came to his defense as a fellow teacher, but quickly changed his tune when he took a gander at Jerry’s very crazy school bio, where he admitted his intent to “teach God’s truth”. Still, a number of Hemant’s fans continue to support Jerry under the banner of free speech. They make a good point: If a teacher can be fired for holding “controversial” views, might the same not apply to non-belief as well?

Here’s my general problem with that idea. Hemant’s beliefs don’t condemn entire groups of people either privately or publicly. It isn’t predicated on the hatred of anyone who isn’t like him. The only thing “controversial” about atheism is that religious people don’t like it. If it wasn’t for these yahoos, we wouldn’t even give this thing we don’t believe in a name. We’re creating a false equivalency here between religious people being discomforted with our non-belief and gay teens being driven to suicide because of the relentless torture of bigots like Jerry. Undoubtedly he’s had a few gay students pass through his class already. What impression of themselves were they left with in his care? If some stories are to be believed, he’s stated that homosexuals should be killed, as should their “conspirators”. How are these vulnerable children affected by this type of hateful bigotry?

The ACLU came to Jerry’s defense because their greater cause is the belief that a person’s views shouldn’t interfere with them having a job. I’m not sure that should be universally true. He’s not working as a fucking office clerk. He’s a teacher, which means he’s been given the charge of educating the mind of our young, and as such Jerry’s beliefs are of extreme importance, especially when it comes to the mental health of the students. Their priority is spelled out clearly in the code of ethics of the school board:

[A Teacher] Shall not intentionally expose a student to unnecessary embarrassment or disparagement; shall not harass or discriminate against any student on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, marital status, handicapping condition, sexual orientation, or social and family background and shall make reasonable effort to assure that each student is protected from harassment or discrimination.

The First Amendment isn’t a defense of people who willfully disregard the codes of conduct they agree to adhere to, and this is especially true for people who educate our young (how tolerant are we if they take other “liberties”?). He’s not being jailed for speaking his mind. He was being suspended for breaking the rules. Just because someone is allowed to say what they want doesn’t suddenly mean that there are no consequences. You can’t have free speech in a world without any fucking accountability.

Oh crazy bigoted religious people…I’m not sure they know what they want, sometimes. Take this clown, Pastor Scott Lively. Last year he came under fire for publishing a book called “The Pink Swastika“, where he claimed Nazi Germany was being run by homofascists (his word). He was laying low for a little while, but now he’s back to blaming gays for everything. This time, he believes they will bring about the end of civilization and what he hopes will be the Second Coming.

We are probably all familiar with the oft-cited fact that the collapse of numerous civilizations prior to our own were heralded by a rise in sexual immorality, especially homosexuality. That alone should alert us to the grave situation we find ourselves in today. But there is a deeper spiritual significance beneath that statistic. God has chosen rampant homosexuality to be a key warning sign for judgment of the world as a whole, and not just of individual nations.

Yeah, I remember reading all about how ancient Sumer was destroyed by sexual impropriety, and everyone knows that the Aztecs were obliterated not by not the Spanish, but rather from all the butt-fucking they were doing on the side. History is a lot more interesting when you get to make shit up, isn’t it?

Genesis is the book of beginnings which sets the tone and lays the foundation for all of our theology. It is there in the first chapter that God establishes the “one flesh” standard for human sexuality which is lifetime, monogamous heterosexual marriage.

We must have been reading a very different version of Genesis, since in the one I read, Eve has to bang her own sons in order to propagate the species. I would hardly call that monogamy! Does he forget that his own religious forefathers like Jacob and Isaac had a plurality of wives?

Homosexuality is not mentioned specifically as an aspect of the pre-flood corruption, but we can assume that a society of men and women whose thoughts “were only evil continuously” (6:5) were involved in every form of sexual perversion.

To be fair, the main reason God thought his creation had become an abomination was because they were fucking his angels and creating a race of super-giants. There’s no mention of all the crazy hot sexual shenanigans they were up to, though. Hey, if my creation was getting all mixed up like that, I might be tempted to nuke that shit and start from scratch.

I have made this point before, but it bears repeating. I am 53 years old. When I was born homosexuality was illegal throughout the entire world. In the space of just half a century this tiny 1-3% of the population have made themselves a global political power with greater influence in the courtrooms and legislatures of the world than the Church of Jesus Christ. This astonishing transformation surpasses that of Darwinism, Marxism, and even Islam in its speed and breadth of reach. To my thinking, this can only have been accomplished by the god of this world (Satan 2 Cor 4:4) who knows his time is short and is making his move.

Yeah, men and women were being jailed for the “crime” of banging people they were attracted to. Eventually, to the great dismay of bigots like Scott Lively, we had to stop incarcerating our own citizens for their sexual preference. Rather than believe that society has progressed, this moron is convinced that only Satan could have expediated the gay rights movement.

I don’t get these guys. Don’t they want the “End Times” to begin soon? Isn’t this good news? Remember how jubilant Harold Camping and his army of dumbass followers were when they though that Jesus was going to rain down fire and brimstone? They were positively BEAMING with excitement at the thought of 99.9% of all humanity being slaughtered by a dude with a sword in his mouth. You’d think that anything that actually speeds up the process would be welcomed. But no, these douchebags are never going to be happy unless we all fuck each other the way they want us to, and with an extremely limited amount of partners.

For those of us not living in the Bronze Age, homosexuals and gender-benders aren’t really a big deal. You kind of expect it, actually. I mean, sexual variability is to be expected in nature, and sex is such a subtle thing with humans I’m beginning to think that the words are adjectives rather than nouns. In any case, we know same sex attraction has been around for a long time, even though I’m sure most religious folks are convinced it’s the work of some evil and nefarious intelligence. So I doubt any of them will care about the recent discovery of a “gay caveman“.

The guy was found with all the accouterments normally reserved for women, and considering how meticulous our ancestors were about burying people, archeologists are convinced it’s evidence of a possible ancient transsexual male.

Women would be buried with necklaces made from teeth, pets, and copper earrings, as well as jugs and an egg-shaped pot placed near the feet.

“What we see here doesn’t add up to traditional Corded Ware cultural norms…None of the objects that usually accompany male burials -such as weapons, stone battle axes and flint knives- were found in the grave.

“We believe this is one of the earliest cases of what could be described as a ‘transsexual’ or ‘third gender grave’ in the Czech Republic,” archaeologist Katerina Semradova told a press conference on Tuesday.

Sometimes a dude just wants to be a lady, even when he lives in a moldy cave, and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with it!

Over 80,000 people signed an online petition to pressure Apple to drop an app that was designed to help “struggling homosexuals” change their sexuality. As you can easily deduce, it promises to help users gain “freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus”.

It used to be that just a few years ago, we would have let this shit slide as a society. Luckily, society has been intolerant of this kind of harmful bigotry, especially in light of all the young men and women who have killed themselves over their perceived “shame”. And who fans these kinds of thoughts? Why, it’s the Jesus-pimps, of course!

Long story short, the good guys won, and Apple pulled this vile bullshit off their app store. Who says I only report on bad news?

Canadians are usually described as “friendly” and “polite” by outsiders who have little experience dealing with our equally venomous religious citizens. While New Brunswick is a picturesque Atlantic province with rolling hills and a colonial flair, it has its fair share of nightmarish ignorance and bigotry thanks to the poisonous influence of religious indoctrination.

Riverview, N.B. is a large town by the province’s own standard, and having adopted the slogan “A great place to grow”, you would imagine a genial place to live where everyone is friendly. One decidedly unfriendly citizen, by the name of Kim Evans owns a business called Petals and Promises Wedding Flowers. She recently refused to outfit a gay couple about to wed in the region, and sent this friendly email:

“I am choosing to decline your business. As a born-again Christian, I must respect my conscience before God and have no part in this matter,” the email said.

The couple, whose names have not been released, are said to be shocked and dismayed their celebration is marred by the ignorance of this woman. In Canada, it is against the law for any business to deny service over matters of race, religion, or sexual preference. While I don’t think it’s necessary to use the long arm of the law to punish this douche, it is nevertheless our solemn duty to shame her for being a close minded bigot. Never underestimate the power of shame, people!