Archive for June 27th, 2012
Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana speaks out.
As reported at Esquire, Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana trashed the United States Supreme Court in light of its recent decision of American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock:
“And then they say, you know, ‘Free speech. Money is speech,’ ” he continued. “No, money is power. Don’t screw around here. Let’s just tell it the way it is: They’re buying power. You’ll see guys that have a business, and they employ a thousand people and they think they’re pretty big stuff, and they’ll say, ‘Yeah, this ought to be okay, a corporation is a person. We want to function as a full person.’ So they say, ‘Yeah, Citizens United, that’s a good thing.’
” ‘You are a dumbass, sir, and I’ll tell you why you are. Because the pharmaceutical companies and the military-industrial complex, and the insurance companies, they’ll step on you like a big. The $500,000 that you can afford to put into the kitty to induce someone to vote your way? You are a piker.’ That’s the equivalent of buying someone one drink and thinking you’re gonna sleep with them. It doesn’t work that way.”
“We went 100 years thinking that was a pretty good system and now the U.S. Supreme Court says, ‘No, you’ve been breaking the law, breaking the Constitution.’ Silly us. We thought having a democracy was more important than having the most corrupt political system in the world. Now, the United States Supreme Court says, ‘No, we prefer corruption over democracy.’
Why quit the Catholic Church?
At Daylight Atheism, Adam Lee offers numerous reasons and links that all lead to the same end point. It’s time for the thinking Catholics to stop being Catholics. Here is Adam’s opening paragraph:
Over the last few years, it’s become increasingly clear that there’s no longer any place in Roman Catholicism for any but the most conservative and doctrinaire members. The signs of a top-down ideological cleansing are too obvious to ignore, including the Vatican hierarchy’s using the Eucharist as a bludgeon against politicians who show too much independence and cracking down on nuns for being suspiciously feminist. People, especially young people, are leaving in droves, and the FFRF has been helping them along with billboards and ads urging progressive Catholics to quit the church (I can’t tell you how much I love “Put Women’s Rights Over Bishops’ Wrongs”). Even the executive editor of the New York Times, hardly a voice of radicalism, is in agreement that liberals can do more good outside the church than in. And liberal Catholics who aren’t leaving feel compelled to articulate why not, a clear sign that they’re feeling the pressure as well.
I have some Catholic friends, most of whom are extremely frustrated with their church. Some of them have almost no respect for Rome, but they still call themselves Roman Catholic because they treasure the community offered by the local church they attend, and they enjoy the ritual, including the music. I’ve often wondered why they don’t quit the church and start their own church. I realize doing this would be a lot of work, but I can’t fathom being a member of a church that, even for those who believe the religious claims, antagonizes, betrays, embarrasses and patronizes its members. In my hometown of St. Louis, a Polish Catholic Church called St. Stanislaus Church broke off from the Roman Catholic Church (leading to contentious litigation). It will be interesting to see whether any other Catholics follow suit.
For individuals who are wanting to leave on their own, the Freedom From Religion Foundation offers De-Baptismal Certificates.
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