Mary Lou Bruner, Loser.

Texas State Board of Education District 9 candidate Mary Lou Bruner (WFAA/screen grab)

Texas State Board of Education District 9 candidate Mary Lou Bruner (WFAA/screen grab)

Remember Ms. It’s A Theory, Theories Are Unproven Bruner?   Well, she’s not going to be sitting on the Texas Board of Education this year. All I can say is that I’m grateful for the outbreak of sanity (no doubt temporary, but still) that ousted her.

Texas voters on Tuesday decided the state’s school board should not include a retired teacher who claimed President Barack Obama was a gay prostitute and said dinosaurs might still be around if Noah had more room on his biblical ark.

Mary Lou Bruner, 69, an arch-conservative with a penchant for conspiracy theories, lost by 18 percent to fellow Republican Keven Ellis in a primary race for the board that sets policies for the nation’s second-largest school system, unofficial Office of the Secretary of State results showed.

[…]

Bruner has blamed U.S. school shootings on the teaching of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in classrooms and said Noah loaded dinosaurs on the ark to escape the biblical flood. “The dinosaurs on the ark may have been babies and not able to reproduce.

It might make sense to take the small dinosaurs onto the ark instead of the ones bigger than a bus,” she said on Facebook.

“Texas escaped an education train wreck tonight,” said Kathy Miller, president of the government watchdog group Texas Freedom Network, in a statement.

While the comments brought her ridicule in some parts of the country, in East Texas they also vaulted her to the top in a March primary, where she won 48 percent of the vote.

Bruner, who taught elementary school and special education for 36 years, had toned down the rhetoric recently and had been commenting only on her platform for the seat on the 15-member state school board that oversees the educational system and approves textbooks for some 5 million public school children.

Full Story Here.

Trump’s Christian Liaison is…

Frank Amedia, an extremist asshole of the worst kind. Calling him a flaming doucheweasel would be a compliment.

Frank Amedia.

Frank Amedia.

Donald Trump has appointed a “liaison for Christian policy” — a minister who has said AIDS is caused by “unnatural sex” and threatened to withhold relief from Haitian earthquake surviviors if they continued to practice voodoo.

Frank Amedia, pastor of Touch Heaven Ministries, arranged a meeting earlier this month between Trump and several other ministers, Time reports. They discussed the “erosion of religious liberty,” the magazine notes, along with Israel and immigration — the latter being a focus of Trump’s presidential campaign, with his call to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico and his plan to deport all undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Catering to the religious right, on the other hand, has not been a priority for the presumptive Republican nominee, and he has made some missteps in his references to the Bible. But now with Amedia, he’s joined up with a representative of the conservative Christian fringe.

[…]

In 2010, Amedia was in Haiti distributing food to earthquake survivors, but said he might make further aid contingent on Haitians giving up the practice of voodoo. “We would give food to the needy in the short term, but if they refused to give up voodoo, I’m not sure we would continue to support them in the long term because we wouldn’t want to perpetuate that practice,” he told the Associated Press in a story quoted by Right Wing Watch. “We equate it with witchcraft, which is contrary to the Gospel.” He later tried to walk back the comments, saying AP had not told “the full story,” but still appeared willing to cut off aid if Haitians did not embrace Christianity, according to Christianity Today magazine.

[…]

Go to Right Wing Watch for more on Amedia, including his role in the bribery case; he was never charged, but admitted to attempted bribery in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Some other ministers who met with Trump have similarly extremist views. Rick Joyner of Morning Star Ministries has blamed gay people for Hurricane Katrina and likened Trump to Christ. Sid Roth has said homosexuality will cause a nation to “vomit out” its people. Mario Bramnick, pastor of New Wine Ministries Church in Florida and a representative of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, last year hosted a meeting that called for the “mobilization” of Christians in response to the “demonic shift” brought to the nation by the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling.

The Full Story is Here. Here’s a sample of Mr. Amedia:

God’s Almighty Health Care Workers.

pma

You’ve probably heard of the credentials M.D. and R.N., and maybe N.P. The people using those letters are doctors, registered nurses and nurse practitioners. But what about PSC.D or D.PSc? Those letters refer to someone who practices pastoral medicine — or “Bible-based” health care.

It’s a relatively new title being used by some alternative health practitioners. The Texas-based Pastoral Medical Association gives out “pastoral provider licenses” in all 50 states and 30 countries. Some providers call themselves doctors of pastoral medicine. But these licenses are not medical degrees. That has watchdog organizations concerned that some patients may not understand what this certification really means.

Thankfully, I have not run across this, and hadn’t heard of anyone with a PSC.D or D.PSc. They’d need heaven’s help if I ever do run into someone sporting a god badge. Healthcare is difficult enough without this depth of bullshit.

The good folks at the Pastoral Medical Association were too busy doing God’s work to have a deep discussion with those aggressively atheist elitists at NPR, only providing a statement “explaining it was founded by a group of Christians concerned with the increase in chronic illness. The association says it seeks to protect ‘the Almighty’s Health Care workers.'”

Lo, the association’s website (“optimized for Firefox”) is a wonder to behold. It comes complete with a constitution, which begins:

We of this mighty western Republic have to grapple with the dangers that spring from popular self-government tried on a scale incomparably vaster than ever before in the history of mankind, and from an abounding material prosperity greater also than anything which the world has hitherto seen.

[…]

So, how many members does the Pastoral Medical Association have? Screw you, that’s how many. According to the site’s awesome FAQ section, “policy prevents the PMA from releasing exact membership numbers, however we can affirm that the PMA family is many many thousands, growing at an average rate of over 3,000 new members monthly.” At that rate, it’s only a matter of time before we’re all members.

And in case you’re wondering if a PMA license is “recognized,” the answer is a resounding yes. See, “because of the nature of PMA license it has a very solid legal basis in all U.S. states and is also respected in a large number of other countries. The PMA is a well organized private ecclesiastical association operating in according with U.S. Constitutional provisions and overwhelming Supreme Court precedence.”

That’s good enough for us. The next time we feel a cold coming on, or lupus, we’ll eschew science and reach for the PMA directory and our comprehensive wellness quart.

Via Houston Press and NPR.

No Religion on the Rise in England and Wales.

A near-empty church. Photograph: Kumar Sriskandan/Alamy.

A near-empty church. Photograph: Kumar Sriskandan/Alamy.

The number of people who say they have no religion is rapidly escalating and significantly outweighs the Christian population in England and Wales, according to new analysis.

The proportion of the population who identify as having no religion – referred to as “nones” – reached 48.5% in 2014, almost double the figure of 25% in the 2011 census. Those who define themselves as Christian – Anglicans, Catholics and other denominations – made up 43.8% of the population.

“The striking thing is the clear sense of the growth of ‘no religion’ as a proportion of the population,” said Stephen Bullivant, senior lecturer in theology and ethics at St Mary’s Catholic University in Twickenham, who analysed data collected through British Social Attitudes surveys over three decades.

“The main driver is people who were brought up with some religion now saying they have no religion. What we’re seeing is an acceleration in the numbers of people not only not practising their faith on a regular basis, but not even ticking the box. The reason for that is the big question in the sociology of religion.”

[…]

The new analysis will fuel concern among Christian leaders about growing indifference to organised religion. This year the Church of England said it expected attendance to continue to fall for another 30 years as its congregations age and the millennial generation spurns the institutions of faith.

According to Bullivant’s report, Contemporary Catholicism in England and Wales – which will be launched at the House of Commons on Tuesday, both the Anglican and Catholic churches are struggling to retain people brought up as Christians.

Four out 10 adults who were raised as Anglicans define themselves as having no religion, and almost as many “cradle Catholics” have abandoned their family faith to become “nones”.

Neither church is bringing in fresh blood through conversions. Anglicans lose 12 followers for every person they recruit, and Catholics 10.

The vast majority of converts come from other Christian denominations, rather than non-Christians or people with no religion. “There’s a kind of denominational musical chairs,” said Bullivant. “No one is making serious inroads into the non-Christian population.”

[…]

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “The increase in those identifying as ‘no faith’ reflects a growing plurality in society rather than any increase in secularism or humanism. We do not have an increasingly secular society as much as a more agnostic one.

“In a global context, adherence to religion is growing rather than decreasing. Christianity remains the world’s largest religion with over 2 billion adherents. In the UK the latest census found the overwhelming majority of people to have a faith.”

Full Article, Charts and Graphs Here.

Courting the New Evangelicals.

The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked victory for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at 12 on an index where the current top threat is a Chinese economic "hard landing" rated 20 (AFP Photo/Jim Watson).

The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked victory for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at 12 on an index where the current top threat is a Chinese economic “hard landing” rated 20 (AFP Photo/Jim Watson).

…Buoyed by his support from deeply religious voters during the Republican primary, the thrice-married Trump has been meeting privately in Manhattan’s Trump Tower with top members of the evangelical community for months, peppering the conversations with fundraising appeals.

At one recent meeting with Trump, evangelical leaders noted how he often flashes a signature hand gesture, with a thumb out and a finger point to the sky, as he enters and exits rallies.

“You see athletes do it all the time and it’s their chance to point to the sky, to thank God for their success,” said Pastor Mark Burns, CEO of a Christian television network based in South Carolina. “Trump does this all of the time, too. He’s giving reverence to the man upstairs.”

“Even with Mr. Trump’s billions of dollars, he too still submits himself to God,” said Burns, who has become a top Trump surrogate and a staple on the campaign trail, frequently introducing the candidate at rallies. “We should all chip in to help him out. You know, even a billionaire needs some cash flow.”

[…]

“Preliminary discussions” are happening within evangelical circles to help Trump raise money—particularly in new age evangelical circles, where many of the leaders have become best-selling authors, top-selling Christian musicians and even minor-celebrities in their own right, Burns said.

And Trump is even beginning to make inroads with more traditional evangelical donors who backed religious conservative candidates who have now dropped out of the presidential race.

Foster Friess, the billionaire who supports Christian conservative causes, told Bloomberg Politics that he predicts conservatives will eventually rally behind Trump.

Full Story Here.

There’s a Little Kid’s Bathroom Now?

I could not manage all four minutes of this douche weasel’s ranting, but I listened to enough to hear him yell about men in dresses / pedophiles being allowed into the little kid’s bathrooms. Little [cisgender] kids have their own public lavs now?

He was ultimately escorted out by police while shouting, “Jesus Christ was not friends with any homos! I’m sorry to tell you guys that!”

I’d use Ken Ham’s gotcha here: “Were you there?”

Full Story Here.

It’s a theory, theories are unproven…

Texas State Board of Education District 9 candidate Mary Lou Bruner (WFAA/screen grab)

Texas State Board of Education District 9 candidate Mary Lou Bruner (WFAA/screen grab)

Mary Lou Bruner. Again. Ugh. This woman makes most extreme Christians seem downright liberal. She is running, once again, for the state school board in Texas. She doesn’t care for her competition, Keven Ellis, who is of the opinion that religious instruction should take place at home, not school. Mary Lou probably thinks that makes him a demon in disguise.

During a Sunday face-off between Ellis and far-right opponent Mary Lou Bruner on WFAA’s Inside Texas Politics, both candidates made their case to voters for the May 24th runoff for the GOP nomination.

Ellis argued that schools needed to be properly funded, but that the district had a responsibility to see that money was spent wisely.

Bruner, who has warned that pre-K programs indoctrinate children into the “homosexual agenda,” called for slashing “special programs” and early childhood education.

[…]

“Ms. Bruner has said that she wants creationism taught in science class,” Inside Texas Politics host Bud Kennedy noted. “And that her views represent those of the district. Are you Christian enough to represent this district?”

“Yes, I am,” Ellis insisted. “I’ve taught Sunday school and Bible quiz in my church in 20 years. And I believe it’s my responsibility to teach my faith to my children. The catch of when you get religion in school is whose religion is going to be taught?”

Bruner disagreed: “When we only teach theory — it’s a theory, theories are unproven — but in the science class, if only one theory is taught then we’re teaching a religion. It is the religion of atheism.”

Via Raw Story.

Kidnapped, Gagged, Surgically Altered Jesus.

(REUTERS/Anton Meres (SPAIN))

(REUTERS/Anton Meres (SPAIN))

There have been a number of articles written recently [by Christians], making the case for Jesus being transgender, what with taking flesh from Mary, missing a chromosome, all that. I can’t say I find any of it particularly interesting, because there’s no Jesus. It is upsetting a whole lot of other Christians.

When Christian ministers in the Civil Rights Movement appealed to the character of Jesus Christ for the wisdom and strength to pursue equality, they did so knowing that they were following His lead. They were advocating for His will and supported by the Christ of Scripture. Jesus, you might say, was a willing participant in the push for equality.

Now, however, as the push to redefine humanity in the sexual revolution is underway and the effort to seek “equal rights” for transgenders is the cause célèbre, Jesus has to be bound with chains, gagged with duct tape, kidnapped and surgically altered to serve as the champion of that movement’s ideal for equality. He has to be dragged kicking and screaming to a place His creation was never intended to go.

Emphasis mine. There sure are a whole lot of people bullying God these days. I do find it interesting that Christians manage to cry “Persecution, you are bullying God!” while at the same time, able to wax poetic about the all powerfulness of said god.

[…]

This is, of course, utter nonsense and not akin to any interpretive paradigm for the incarnation ever offered by any theologian, at any time, in any era, on any continent, for any purpose. It is a fabrication of minds clouded by the scars of sexual rebellion.

[…]

Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, preached in a synagogue (which only males could do), was referred to as the “son” of Mary (and Joseph, though erroneously so), referred to exclusively by the Greek pronouns “his” and “him,” and was referred to as “King of the Jews” – not “Queen of the Jews.” Nowhere is it recorded that Mary dressed poor female Jesus in male clothes to ease his transition into patriarchal society. Nowhere is Jesus said to be screaming internally for his inner female self to break the chains of restrictive, theocratic society to have a coming out party.

These patently obvious cues in Scripture, however, will likely not dissuade armchair theologians on the Left from validating Hall’s thesis.

I, therefore, turn to church history. In the entire corpus of writings on the church fathers, there is not a single writer who claims Jesus was anything other than anatomically and psychologically male in his humanity. The church does not depict him as schizophrenic, bi-polar, bi-sexual, homosexual, questioning, or transgender.

[…]

He is a new creation, indeed – just not one to be used to bolster a new, tired old argument about Jesus’s sexuality to make transgenders feel better about their gender dysphoria or the fact that they are prohibited from using the opposite sex’s restrooms.

I’d rather they just admit that they’re looking for a different Savior than the one given to us in the Christ of the Bible.

The full rant is here.

Maroon 5 says No to NC.

maroon-5-x750

Maroon 5 will not be spending “One More Night” in North Carolina anytime soon, making an announcement today that may have fans in the Tar Heel state in “Misery.”

The Grammy-winning pop-rock group cancelled two shows in the state in response to anti-LGBT House Bill 2.

“This was a difficult decision for us to make as a band,” the group wrote in a statement on their website. The band wrote that they don’t want to “penalize our fans in North Carolina by not performing for them, but in the end it comes down to what we feel is morally right.” Full Story Here.

And, Target is standing firm with their commitment to diversity.

target-ceo-brian-cornellx750

Target CEO Brian Cornell told Fortune magazine on Wednesday that the retail chain’s decision to allow transgender customers and staff to use the bathroom that most closely corresponds with their gender identity hasn’t hurt sales.

“To date we have not seen a material or measurable impact on our business,” Cornell said. “Just a handful of stores across the country have seen some activity and have been impacted.”

[…]

In a May 11 interview with Kelly Evans of CNBC’s Squawk Box, the CEO stated, “We’re going to continue to embrace our belief in diversity and inclusion, just how important that is to our company. … We want to make sure we provide a welcoming environment for all of our guests, one that’s safe [and] one that’s comfortable.”

Full Story Here.

Religious, Er, No, Artistic Freedom!

Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka of Brush & Nib.

Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka of Brush & Nib.

“Artistic Freedom!” The new battle cry of religious people who do not want their lives or businesses tainted by anyone in that queer camp. Phoenix, Arizona has a non-discrimination law which has been working just fine. Now, a conservative law firm has found a business willing to be the poster child for an effort to knock down a law protecting LGBT people from discrimination with claims of artistic expression and “religious freedom.”

Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski own a calligraphy studio in Phoenix, Arizona called Brush & Nib Studio. They make all kinds of custom art, including wedding invitations and other items marrying couples might use. They’re also evangelical Christians who refuse to serve same-sex couples. Even though they haven’t yet been asked by such a couple, they’re partnering with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to file a legal complaint in Arizona state court attempting to overturn Phoenix’s nondiscrimination ordinance.

This pre-enforcement challenge is based on the idea that if they refused to sell the same services to same-sex couples that they already sell to opposite-sex couples, they would be penalized under the law. And the law, they argue, infringes on their right to freely express their religious beliefs.

Basically, they just don’t want to have to follow that law. Not only do they not want to have to serve marrying same-sex couples, but they also want to be able advertise their beliefs on their website so that same-sex couples don’t even bother asking for their services. Most importantly, they don’t want anybody else to have to follow it either. They’ve filed a facial complaint, asking for the entire law to be thrown out and made unenforceable.

“Joanna and Breanna must live authentic, holistic Christian lives,” the complaint reads. “They must seek to honor God in all aspects of their lives, including all aspects of their work, and must seek to serve God and their neighbors through their vocation. As a result, Joanna and Breanna cannot do anything in their business that violates their religious beliefs or dishonors God.”

The suit outlines just what the pair believes in detail:

Zack Ford has the full story here.

Artistic expression my arse. It’s outrageous for religious bigots to use this an excuse to legislate bigotry. There’s nothing stopping these people from painting “RELIGIOUS calligraphy” all over their storefront. There’s nothing stopping them from branding themselves as “Christian Brush & Nib”. Christian bookstores do this all over the place, and gosh, most of their clients are Christian. Who would have thought? Most people who aren’t bigoted assholes will choose to employ non-bigoted services. This is nothing more than a barely veiled attempt to turn over a non-discrimination law which is working well.

Oklahoma: Trans-access a State of Emergency.

The Oklahoma State Capitol. (KOKH/Keaton Fox)

The Oklahoma State Capitol. (KOKH/Keaton Fox)

Oklahoma has joined the party by declaring a state of emergency to block Obama’s directive.

Lawmakers have done so by introducing two pieces of legislation, which will be considered by May 27. First, Senate Bill 1619 would allow students to only use bathrooms based upon their gender at birth. This would render Obama’s directive powerless and also includes the following language:

“It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.”

The law would allow parents to sue school districts who don’t comply, based upon a request for a religious accommodation. Then legislators introduce Senate Concurrent Resolution 43, which actually calls for articles of impeachment against President Obama over the bathroom directive. One of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. John Bennett, explains the rationale:

“This directive to schools is not only unlawful, but the breadth of overreach in this instance by the Obama Administration is shocking. We are working on legislation that would protect our citizens by not requiring our kids and women to share a facility with anyone who ‘identifies’ as a gender that they were not born. We are going to do everything we can to protect our women and children.”

Via Uproxx, Ktul, and Raw Story.

This comes after Oklahoma’s stunning disregard for, well, everything, by passing a bill making performing an abortion a felony. I think this graphic should be up everywhere Oklahoma is being discussed:

oklahoma-sign

Via Politicususa.

The Church Is Stealing Our Church!

Priest with crucifix (Shutterstock www.shutterstock.com)

Priest with crucifix (Shutterstock www.shutterstock.com)

For the past 12 years, the church of St Frances Xavier Cabrini in Scituate, near Boston, has not been empty for a single moment.

Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, a group of parishioners has maintained a vigil inside the building to prevent its sale by the archdiocese of Boston, to help pay the Catholic church’s enormous bills relating to its long and sordid history of child sexual abuse .

Children have slept in the sacristy, meals have been eaten beneath the stained glass windows, planning meetings have been held in the pews, prayers said and candles lit.

But not for much longer. After the supreme court this week declined to hear an appeal against an earlier court ruling, the parishioners must now vacate the premises, and will hold a final farewell service on 29 May.

[…]

That does not seem likely. “This church is being stolen from us, there’s no denying that. The archdiocese sees the value of property over the value of people,” said Rogers.

Well, the church certainly didn’t value all those who were abused throughout its history on this planet, so I’m not sure why there’s any surprise about this.

Full Story Here.

No Mocking Christ’s Crucifixion!

Boylesports’ ad was likely to cause serious offence, said the ASA. Photograph: ASA

Boylesports’ ad was likely to cause serious offence, said the ASA. Photograph: ASA

A gambling ad featuring a hand nailed to a piece of wood that ran over Easter has been banned for mocking the crucifixion of Jesus and the Christian religion.

Gambling company Boylesports emailed a promotion to punters that showed a hand nailed to a piece of wood against a desert scene with the strapline “nailed on bonus”.

Its text read: “In memory of the dearly departed JC, we are offering you a sacrilecious [sic] bonus this Easter weekend … So don’t just sit there gorging your own body weight in chocolate, that’s disrespectful. Get on Boylesports Gaming and get your nailed on bonus.”

[…]

One recipient of the email lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority that the ad was offensive and mocked the Christian religion.

Boylesports tried to play the link with Jesus Christ down, saying that there was no religious symbolism in the ad and that crucifixion per se was a “common practice” in Christ’s time.

The ASA rejected Boylesports’ argument, saying the ad was clearly not a reference to a “generic” crucifixion, but directly to that of Jesus Christ.

I think Boylesports’s argument should have been given more credence, because an awful lot of people were executed by crucifixion, but of course, they don’t matter. They never do. Boylesports did rather shoot themselves in the foot by mentioning JC though. Christian sites are jumping all over this, absolutely gleeful that the ASA has defended Christians and Christianity. All the stories have made it clear that it’s a no-no to mock Christ’s crucifixion, but I guess it’s perfectly okay to mock all those others who were actually crucified.

Full Story Here.