cklablog

Point the first: Wahahahahahahah.

Point the second: The current Christian obsession with getting teenagers not to have sex is the very definition of “Sisyphean.”

Point the third: Abstinance-only education (and the ‘purity’ trope not only fails in every regard, it nets out in more unwanted pregnancies and STDs.

Via openeducation.net:
Therefore, those youngsters who took the virginity pledge were not only just as likely to have intercourse, they ultimately were more likely to take part in sex in an unsafe manner.

^ That would be the boulder rolling back down the hill part.

And to be honest with you, I would probably rather be 14 and pregnant with siphylis than have to sit through this more than once:

What ever happened to getting caught with transvetite prostitutes? Is that completely passe now?

Note to self: if I plan to make my primary life’s scam that of a right-wing “family values” politician, don’t be a lying stupid hypocrite. Depite the laughably predictable insincerity from a moralist, this California Congressman’s litany of sexual conquest makes better listening than the second hand accounts of gay bathroom sex we’ve grown used to here in ‘Merica.

This one initially scores 8.5 for prurient detail alone, but gets bumped up to 9.0 for the fact he was cheating on one mistress with the other, his wife apparently out of the picture altogether, and both mistresses were also lobbyists.

An Argentine soul-mate? CHILD’S PLAY.

My new #1 Internet Fact™: You don’t cheat on Therese Ziemann if you’re already cheating on your wife with Therese Ziemann.

Because Therese Ziemann will glue your penis to your stomach while your other ladies punch you in the face and laugh.

9.5 for cold-hearted comedy, and the totally unrepentant photo of Therese Ziemann, Ace Penis-Gluer is top-shelf.

. . . wake up with fleas?   My grandmother never warned me not to try and share power with anyone who thinks they are the sole arbiter of Truth . . . but she should have.

“According to Chafee, the recent series of right-wing primary campaigns against centrist Republicans is a major source of weakness for the party, especially given that these campaigns often target lawmakers in blue states where only moderate candidates have a chance in the general election. But even if the more moderate incumbents survive the challenge, they’ll only be weaker against the Democratic candidate later on.”

via the Daily Beast

Current Affairs Lesson #1: Don’t make a land-for-peace deal with the Taliban, and

Current Affairs Lesson #2: Don’t mortgage your party to the Religious Right (the Missouriban).

. . . unfortunately, it’s a shark. The Bible predicted Jesus would come back as the Lion of Judah, but apparently, He’s pulled a switcheroo and returned as the Shark of Virginia.

Tricksy Jesus.

It’s like half church, half after-hours club, half dance scene from a Peanuts made-for-TV special. Tonight on ABC: “Best Get Right With Jesus, Charlie Brown!”

CNN has an article about a retired detective who is posing as a tween girl online in order to draw out and bust child molesters.

"The latest defendant is Allen Kauffman, 63, who resigned as mayor of Collins and pastor of Temple Lot Church after he was arrested January 11 at home in his small town about 110 miles southeast of Kansas City."

Generally speaking, the more self-righteous the person is, the bigger the skeletons that come out of his closet. It’s funny that Ted Haggard in Colorado got busted buying gay sex, but in the end, who really gives a fuck? It’s two adults having consensual sex . . . granted, for money, but you know . . . whatever. It’s really only even newsworthy because one of the consenting gay men is a giant hypocrite who uses his podium to preach anti-gay rhetoric while giving rim-jobs to his crank dealer behind his congregation’s back.

But this Missouri guy preys on kids. He got busted trying to solicit sex from a 60-year old man posing as a 13-year old girl online. omg lol k im laghing @ him i hope cops beat hm up lol

He’s a scumbag, check. But, adding pathos to all this skeeve, he’s a religious scumbag who tells other people how to live their lives and preaches about morality and "family values."

From the Temple Lot Church website (emphasis mine):

"The (Temple Lot Church) is… the true Church restored in the last days by Christ himself to prepare the world for His final return . . . the Church of Christ posesses true priesthood authority and spiritual gifts given by Christ for the purpose of spreading His Gospel to all ‘kindreds, nations, tongues and people.’"

These are the kinds of dumb rabbit-holes literalist religion sends you down into. So Christ himself gave Chester the Molester "true preisthood authority"? Really? Gee, wouldn’t that would make Jesus a fucking moron?

And is "true priesthood authority" as good as "real ultimate power"? Because if not, I’m OUT, bible boy.

The more of this stuff I hear about, the more I think that the people who are bible-literalist Christians only come in two categories: hiding something, or trying to cover up some personality flaw. Get some therapy, let go of any literal interpretation of metaphor (it’s only going to lead to neurosis), have a glass of wine, some consensual sex (with ADULTS, you freaks) and get on with being limited, human, ignorant and a tiny, tiny speck in an otherwise unimportant part of a massive universe that is 100% without any meaning at all.

I’ve been kind of keeping this under wraps, but I’ve decided to make some pretty big changes in my life. Over the last year or so, Emily and I have become increasingly involved with issues relating to developing countries; from both a political/economic and a spiritual point-of-view.

Most recently, I read The End of Poverty, by Jeffrey Sachs, and was taken by the plausibility of his work. It’s more than just a pipe dream; his vision of reaching an end to world poverty could become a reality in our lifetime if we only committed a fraction of the resources toward ending poverty that we do to waging war. Sachs bases his well-thought-out and comprehensive approach to eliminating world poverty upon his conviction that everything depends on everything else — that, for instance, you cannot cure poverty in Africa without beating AIDS, which requires infrastructure, which requires stable government, and so forth.

Sachs is not himself a particularly spiritual man, but his ideas got me to thinking; what is the ultimate foundation upon which reliable, compassionate social structures are built? To my mind, the answer is an abiding and pervasive social relationship with Christ.

Emily and I have spent a lot of time praying over this issue recently, and we have come to the conclusion that while we are not high-powered economists or influential politicians, we can still do our part to advance Mr. Sachs’ vision by abandoning the dubious “luxuries” of the first world for the spiritual fulfillment of ministering the Word among the most needy (and deserving) people of the world.

“I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in an eat with him, and he with Me…And, to all who receive Him have the right to become children of God (Revelation 3:20; John 1:12).”

We’ve already made arrangements with the people over at JCA (Jesus Christ Africa), and in two short weeks we will travel to their headquarters in Branson, Missouri for a two-month intensive training/prayer retreat (and faith-based variety show) after which we will fly to Africa for our direct ministries. Normal postings last six to nine months, but Emily and I have been moved by the spirit to sign up for an 18-month posting. We are hoping to be posted to Malawi, but there is a chance that we might be more needed in Nigeria, which would be okay also, of course.

We don’t anticipate having any internet access while training or during our post, so we won’t be able to stay in touch, but remember, “. . . neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-39).”

God bless and keep you, and I hope to hear from you all upon our return on or before Christmas 2007.