^ A Vast Left Wing Liberal Conspiracy (VLWLC) would have all news outlets talking about the possibility that John McCain was brainwashed while he was a P.O.W. in Vietnam, which originated from anonymous spam e-mail.

Clips of John Hagee calling Catholicism "the Great Whore", along with Rod Parsley would dominate the news cycle for at least a month, solid. Whenever McCain's numbers rise, the media dutifully brings the topic back up again, ad nauseum.

Rachel Maddow would be the most famous Talk Radio personality (aside from Howard Stern, who would still broadcast on terrestrial radio), and would constantly complain of a right-wing bias in all news outlets. She'd have had a successful smear campaign; most conservatives would be reluctant to use that term, it now has such a negative connotation in common discourse.

President Gore, would of course, time his policy to aid Obama as well, rolling out a report in October on how carbon emissions are now in decline, globally, for the first time since they've been keeping records.

Too bad there ain't no Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, just the right wing kind.

However, as Colbert points out, reality has a well-known liberal bias.

Sounds like a very well reasoned and well thought out argument based entirely upon reality.

I wonder what Catholicism will look like once the 'beast' shits it out... mmm?

LOL!

Magic is REAL!
<this was sent to the Representative>

An Atheist has as much right to express their opinion in the public arena as does any zealot. Denying an atheist the right to speak freely and openly in a public forum simply shows ignorance, and a complete lack of understanding of what it is to live under the U.S Constitution. I suggest you read it sometime. It truly is an amazing piece of work. Not without faults for sure, but truly impressive.

The founding fathers of our nation were not textbook Christians, nor was this nation founded on Christian dogma, but rather sparked from a desire to obtain freedom FROM the European majority/establishment which threateningly pushed religious servitude into the lives of the early peoples. They were fleeing from religious oppression in Europe. A total lack of religious freedom beyond the scope of the so-called establishment. Namely fundamentalist Catholicism.

Take this not as being completely adverse to religion as a whole. Most people were religious in the past, just not within the 'framework' being forced upon them in the old world. They were the 'progressives' or 'liberals' of their day.

Those non-Christian Africans who were unfortunate enough to be enslaved by their Christian oppressors were ultimately conquered both physically and spiritually as they were broken in body AND in spirit as they lost their own identity. They were once a proud people with their own culture and entirely non-Christian religions. Unique, and different than their very European bred conquerors. Ultimately, they embraced the religion of their captors over the generations. It is not their fault for succumbing. It is the fault of their so-called moral authority. The Christian oppressors whom were granted the right to enslave by their all mighty God and their moral guidelines as dictated by their Holy Bible. Whatever revision, rewrite, re-translation it happened to be at the given moment.

No one perspective is 'ENTIRELY RIGHT'. No one perspective is TRUE. To believe so is to be naive.

Great quote from the excellent cartoon The Venture Bros.: Dr. Venture speaks to a class in Tijuana- "So you see, by applying the basic principles of the scientific method to the matter, we learn very quickly that the myth of the chupacabra is just that - utter crap. Now, if you apply the same principles to Catholicism, an interesting thing occurs..."

I "graded" your quiz

1. What do you do when you are not at the computer?

• Paint - That figures
• Watch DVDs - Wow you don't leave the house?
• Attend movies - By yourself most likely
• Work Sudoku puzzles - Afraid of real math?
• Get together with friends - Free meals at the soup kitchen don't count as "get together with friends
• Dine at restaurants - Translation: Dig in the dumpsters behind restaurants
• Attend art presentations - Staring at the back tattoo of a tranny prostitute hardly counts as "attending art presentations"
• Attend Mac meetings - ...
• Visit art museums/exhibitions - You already said that, but then again you probably don't have much going on in your life
• Take digital photos and videos - Draw "cave paintings" on the walls of the overpass you live under.
• Attend parties/receptions - Always the crasher never the invitee?
• Read books on art - Read...books...on...art. hmmm...fascinating

2. What is your favorite of your posted videos?

“MANtage” - you spelled "MANspooge" wrong

3. How many avatars have you had since being a member? What were (are) they?

Ten
• dot art – levee break waves
• dot art – 40 shades of blue
• dot art – green Chinese lion
• dot art – purple design from plaster relief
• dot art – leopard-like patterns
• dot art – eye shapes orange on black
• rainy windshield photo
• Dutch Alley blur
• pond goldfish photo
• Chinese dragon float profile photo (current one)
^Just can't quite encapsulate your mediocrity through visual aids, eh?

4. What non-self-involved site do you visit most often?

Apple Movie Trailers - To look at coming attractions nobody will ever invite you to see

5. If you had a time machine would you keep it clean?

Clean?!? What does that mean?!? - You know, clean like how you feel after your bimonthly dip in the sewers

6. What is your ratio of pairs of shoes to underwear?

1: 21 - Make that 1/2 : 1

7. Is that underwear boxer, brief, or birthday?

Boxers - Women's panties

8. Do you run a Mac OS, Windows, or Linux?

Mac OS - Coincidently Mac & Cheese is your main source of nutrition too

9. Would you most prefer to be involved in a monumental one-of-a-kind hiking expedition, working on a breakthrough cure for a debilitating illness, or presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data?

presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data - Pretending to have a girlfriend while dry humping his semen encrusted matress

10. What is your favorite ice cream topping? Favorite (non-ice-cream-related) spice?

Topping – chocolate syrup - By the time you get to the ice cream, it's already melted
Spice - saffron - Dried eucalyptus leaves

11. Are you a tits, ass, or legs man?

Yes - Translation: "I'm desparate"

12. What kind of pet(s) do you have? Include name(s).

Used to have cats:

Red (orange tabby) - killed and ate it
Storm (gray tabby with white socks – picked out Spring 1991 during Desert Storm) - Road kill that you found and dragged around on a leash for the summer of '91
Pierre (peppered fur mix) - Make believe animal that keeps me company during those lonely nights

13. What kind of pelt(s) do you have? Include name(s).

None. However, a former girlfriend brought me The Australian Lucky Pouch when she returned from her trip her trip Down Under. - Hahahaha! girlfriend...that's rich

14. What is your favorite kind of soup?

Turtle with a splash of sherry - Whatever's being served at the shelter

15. What is your most frequented source of news?

WWL Radio - 2 week old newspapers that you use to wipe your ass

16. What is your beverage (poison) of choice?

Iced Tea - "...you know how I know you're gay?"

17. Have you ever been arrested?

No. - The Phantom Pooper still hasn't been caught

18. What’s your go-to move for making a good first impression?

Get a person talking about her/himself and pray its not over my head. - Try not to get close enough to the person to be smelled

19. How would you describe your coif: bangs, balding or rug?

Thinning - HAHAHAHAHA

20. Is your face clean-shaven or do you have a beard, a goatee or a mustache?

Beard - Translation: I can't afford a razor

21. List your five most cherished possessions.

• House - Cardboard box
• Volvo - Shopping Cart
• Mac - & Cheese
• Camera - Old crayon or feces drawn on walls and sidewalks
• DVD player - "I can't play it, cause I don't have a TV but it sure is pretty and it'll score me a couple crack rocks"

22. What religion, if any, did you practice as a child?

Roman Catholicism - suppressed memories

23. What about now?

Same. - Translation: I do to little boys what was done to me

24. What is your favorite memory?

Surprise trip to Disneyworld even though us kids were told to pack for Gulfport, MS - Finding a quarter on the ground

25. What was your favorite childhood television show?

“Speed Racer” - It was really "My Little Pony"

26. How would you describe your personal style/sense of fashion/taste for life/artistic flair?

personal style – put my stamp on what I do - Translation: I fart wherever I am
sense of fashion – I like color, except the days I prefer black - "OH, woe is me I'm such a DEEP artist type"
taste for life – take time to appreciate whom I’m with, where I am and what I’m doing - Translation: Sit in an alcove yelling at people who don't give me spare change
artistic flair – experimentation and reinvention - Translation: Crap nobody will like and stealing other people's work

27. What is a reason not to go to Burning Man?

I already live in a hot climate. - No transportation, no friends, no car, no water, you're missing a shoe

28. Who is your favorite Sift Hero?

Fedquip - Translation: Rottenseed

29. Do you have any image(s) of yourself online that you're willing to share?

‘Will link shortly. - "uh...er...well you see is, I'm horribly disfigured and I hope everybody will forget about this question"

30. What goal to you have while a Videosift member?

Contribute to the “good of the order.” - Find somebody that'll love me for the stinky, poor, pseudo-artist I am

31. Do you upvote comments more for their originality, sense of humor, or self-deprecation?

I upvote on impulse, PERIOD. - "I can't read."

And now for the rest of the story . . . The ANSWERS to all things dot . . .

1. What do you do when you are not at the computer?

• Paint
• Watch DVDs
• Attend movies
• Work Sudoku puzzles
• Get together with friends
• Dine at restaurants
• Attend art presentations
• Attend Mac meetings
• Visit art museums/exhibitions
• Take digital photos and videos
• Attend parties/receptions
• Read books on art

2. What is your favorite of your posted videos?

“MANtage”

3. How many avatars have you had since being a member? What were (are) they?

Ten
• dot art – levee break waves
• dot art – 40 shades of blue
• dot art – green Chinese lion
• dot art – purple design from plaster relief
• dot art – leopard-like patterns
• dot art – eye shapes orange on black
• rainy windshield photo
• Dutch Alley blur
• pond goldfish photo
• Chinese dragon float profile photo (current one)

4. What non-self-involved site do you visit most often?

Apple Movie Trailers

5. If you had a time machine would you keep it clean?

Clean?!? What does that mean?!?

6. What is your ratio of pairs of shoes to underwear?

1: 21

7. Is that underwear boxer, brief, or birthday?

Boxers

8. Do you run a Mac OS, Windows, or Linux?

Mac OS

9. Would you most prefer to be involved in a monumental one-of-a-kind hiking expedition, working on a breakthrough cure for a debilitating illness, or presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data?

presenting the discovery of a revolutionary new way to parse data

10. What is your favorite ice cream topping? Favorite (non-ice-cream-related) spice?

Topping – chocolate syrup
Spice - saffron

11. Are you a tits, ass, or legs man?

Yes

12. What kind of pet(s) do you have? Include name(s).

Used to have cats:

Red (orange tabby)
Storm (gray tabby with white socks – picked out Spring 1991 during Desert Storm)
Pierre (peppered fur mix)

13. What kind of pelt(s) do you have? Include name(s).

None. However, a former girlfriend brought me The Australian Lucky Pouch when she returned from her trip her trip Down Under.

14. What is your favorite kind of soup?

Turtle with a splash of sherry

15. What is your most frequented source of news?

WWL Radio

16. What is your beverage (poison) of choice?

Iced Tea

17. Have you ever been arrested?

No.

18. What’s your go-to move for making a good first impression?

Get a person talking about her/himself and pray its not over my head.

19. How would you describe your coif: bangs, balding or rug?

Thinning

20. Is your face clean-shaven or do you have a beard, a goatee or a mustache?

Beard

21. List your five most cherished possessions.

• House
• Volvo
• Mac
• Camera
• DVD player

22. What religion, if any, did you practice as a child?

Roman Catholicism

23. What about now?

Same.

24. What is your favorite memory?

Surprise trip to Disneyworld even though us kids were told to pack for Gulfport, MS

25. What was your favorite childhood television show?

“Speed Racer”

26. How would you describe your personal style/sense of fashion/taste for life/artistic flair?

personal style – put my stamp on what I do
sense of fashion – I like color, except the days I prefer black
taste for life – take time to appreciate whom I’m with, where I am and what I’m doing
artistic flair – experimentation and reinvention

27. What is a reason not to go to Burning Man?

I already live in a hot climate.

28. Who is your favorite Sift Hero?

Fedquip

29. Do you have any image(s) of yourself online that you're willing to share?

‘Will link shortly.

30. What goal to you have while a Videosift member?

Contribute to the “good of the order.”

31. Do you upvote comments more for their originality, sense of humor, or self-deprecation?

I upvote on impulse, PERIOD.


Answer you that!

You've got to recognise the 'world system' that interprets money and wealth as things of value as a separate entity. Yes, we have created it, but now we are entirely reliant upon it and we slave everyday toward its maintenance.

When people turn to find meaning and spirituality they turn to other entities within this system, namely catholicism, mormonism, scientology and all the rest. They never ever leave the system and therefore never touch upon the things that really make us human.

If you really want to attack scientology, if you really want to turn people against it, you must show them that there are no answers, meaning or spirituality present in any of the major world religions. With the possible exception of Buddhism they are all hierarchical monetary based systems.

Somebody called Jesus once pointed out the exact same thing about the Roman church.

Alice Texas??? Got some friends from there......Nowhere USA, you'd think a mayor could get away with a Panchito-snatch....crazy frikkin' toy-dog obsessed Hispanic lady, I can believe it......same kinna freak sees Hay-Zeus in baked goods....Roman Catholicism can fuck you up, man.....

You can't say that all religions are cults, it's just not accurate.

Now, you can say that any religion has the ability to be as dangerous as Scientology, and in a number of ways religions like Catholicism have indeed killed people for going against faith and their beliefs.

However, most 'normal' people who follow one of the mainstream religions will not drain the life savings of someone for the church, will not kill someone who tries to leave the church, will not disallow interaction with anyone not of the church...

The issue with Scientology over other religions is that truly is just a money making machine, and does a ridiculously good job of that. And it does its best to stop people harming their money making ability.

The good thing about Scientology is that most people can see that it's a bit barmy, and insane, but you can use that against other religions with like for like comparisons.

"So, you think it's ridiculous to believe in space aliens no-one believes just because some guy wrote a book saying they exist?"
"Yeah, that's just nots"
"Why is it any more nuts to believe that over the existence of God just because a few guys wrote a book saying that he exists?"

Well, I'd had a longer response written out last night further outlining some of my personal views regarding Catholicism but then I guess they got lost in the server switch over or something because the whole site went buggy... oh well, wasn't that important really.

Mostly just wanted to say that yeah Krupo, I meant 'religious' during the rest of the week, that 'only Catholic on Sunday' phrase is one my brother and I have long used to describe our family, but I suppose if taken the wrong way that suggests a whole other realm of meaning.

Also, I think the point bamdrew raises just about sums up the biggest issue I have with Scientology. That it runs like a for-profit business that basically feeds financially off its membership. I mean, say what one will about the amassed wealth of the Catholic Church, but at least just walking in the door, seeking solace, or consulting a priest for spiritual advice costs one nothing, and tithing is optional, am pretty sure with Scientology, Inc. that its pay to play or GTFO. And also, I don't see them giving back to the community in general, Tom Cruise and John Travolta certainly aren't running any soup kitchens for the church thats for sure, in fact, am pretty sure that in general the membership sticks to itself, and only works to improve their own lives... the whole charity thing that kind of retains most religions within my own personal good graces is just about nonexistent with Scientology, Inc. and for that, I hold no special place for them.

raven, I'm Catholic all the time, especially on the Sift.

Of course NFP isn't a 100%, but that's also why it's acceptable. The idea being that you're not saying "NO", just saying, "uh, maybe later?" (in a not-completely forceful way)

Remember, Catholicism is for sinners. If you're perfect you don't need a church because you're already a Saint.

So I'm not sure if your second last paragraph is intended to mean "being religious" (actually, I'm sure that's what you mean), but it's more amusing if I twist it into meaning sinners in need of redemption. In that case, the twist makes your family sound pretty wild.

Yeah, 'natural family planning' is about as effective as Russian roulette is at not getting you shot.

I can see how in 'Old World' countries the Catholic Church still has a lot of sway... it also exerts similar powers throughout Latin America. However, here in the US and Canada, which were first settled by predominately Protestant peoples who had fought against the repression of the Catholic church and continued to preach that it sought to control our country from abroad, the Roman Catholic Church has pretty much failed to gain any strong political powers. When the United States Constitution was drawn up that idea of 'Separation of Church and State' undoubtedly came not only from the English experience of having lived under the Anglican Church where the King is defacto spiritual leader, but also from the memories of the Catholic Church and the inquisitions carried out all over continental Europe.

Also, the bulk of the Catholic population in this country came over in the great waves of immigration towards the end of the 19th century from Catholic countries, Italians, Germans, Polish, Irish (my people, W00t), etc. With an established system of political power already set in place by predominantly Protestant peoples, Catholics, only up until very recently, were largely disenfranchised and politically without power in this country, so even if Rome tried to exert its might via its people, it would have had a hard time accomplishing anything. Those in power almost universally viewed the immigrants as superstitious, unwashed, uneducated, masses... largely because they were poor, but also because they still were a part of the 'Old' religious system. To some extent that lives on today in the current immigrant 'crisis' involving Mexico... the rhetoric that often accompanies that, "oh they'll just breed and breed and not work and we'll have to support the lot of them... and then if they outnumber us, then they'll start changing everything thing, and OMG lets just deport the lot of em"... is so similar to the rhetoric spewed forth regarding my ancestors only a hundred years ago it makes my head spin sometimes... I mean fuck, the Irish were barely human beings in this country really until WW2, and in retrospect I feel damn lucky sometimes that I'm getting a college education.

But anyway, the point I was getting to, is that there is a pervasive political paranoia regarding Catholicism in this country... like, whenever someone of Irish or German descent runs for the Presidency, everyone is always like, Wait, what church does he go to? This happened with John Kerry (who had been politically savvy enough to go Methodist decades earlier), and it happened with JFK, who actually was our only Catholic President ever, and at the time, the predominant worry about him prior to his election was if he was all of a sudden going to start taking orders from Rome after being sworn in.

Also, in the last 40 years or so, the number of active Catholics in this country has declined rapidly. I think this is due not only to that whole priests touching little boys thing (that certainly has turned a lot of people off from the church) but also because of the shift to modern American culture and all the other things about our society that impact pretty much all religions in this way. Yes, there are still people who go to church, but as Krupo said, over here anyway, if you are Catholic, what you hear in church, is probably vastly different from what you actually do in real life... there is just a lot more detachment than you see back over in Europe, or even in Latin America... Catholics over here, for the most part it seems, are, like my family, and are only really Catholic on Sundays.

I hope that clears up things for you looris, why, when you say stuff about the Catholic Church controlling people (which I believe you are right about, especially in Italy and other countries on that side of the Atlantic), we people over here are just like, "Say What? Catholic Church doing something more than holding bingo raffles? Whatever"

* "Neutralitätsgebot". the state is not allowed to identify with any religion because it is home of everyone and indentifiying could hurt someone's feelings. I don't know much about scientology but it seems a neutral state is not on their agenda. by the way this constitutional law is the reason why no one employed by the state is allowed to wear headscarfs etc (in Germany teachers are state employed).
* both fundamental and human rights. the secretary claims that scientology wants to limit and/or abandon some of them
* Our constitution declares a democratic society, that seems to be incompatible with scientology
* their pursuit of political power and influence, both subject to various laws.

ALL of this can be also applied to catholicism, actually.
• they do not want a neutral state
• they want to abandon some human rights (abortion, homosexuality, following other religions or not following one at all, etc.)
• they are not democratic
• they pursue and they have MUCH political power and influence
at least, here in Italy, but I guess that's the same everywhere.

Just finished reading the Golden Compass. It was pretty good, and I would have really loved it as a 12 year old. Don't think it would have done much to shake my catholicism. As a 12 year old, you just don't think about those things. Loved the Narnia series too as a 12 year old, and it did nothing to strengthen my catholicism.

One of the important things to remember about Pat is that he's a comedian. You shouldn't expect him to maintain a "professional" image in his videos as you might expect from someone like Dawkins.

I happen to think Pat is great. He makes no excuses for himself. I find his material to be funny, occasionally hilarious, and he makes his audience think about some fairly important topics in the process.

I was raised Catholic. I once made the statement, partially in jest, that the good thing about Catholicism is that it creates so many Atheists. The point being that Catholicism is so oppressive and so offensive, that it's hard to imagine someone not rebelling against it. Had I been raised under a less draconian belief system, perhaps I wouldn't have been motivated to seek out my own answers.

I actually believe very much that discouraging free thought was a significant goal in the original formation of organized religion. If you can control the thoughts of a population, then you can control their actions. In the centuries that have past I believe that this control mindset has been lost in some cases, but I still see the reverberations in many religious organizations.

One of the most unfortunate parts of religious belief, in my opinion, is how it affects children before they are really old enough to question what they are being told or to have their own ideas. Even as a young child I felt it was wrong to make the decision for another person. You may say that this is not unique to religious belief and you'd be right, but again we go back to the control aspect. If I have children, I will go out of my way to encourage them to find their own answers and have their own ideas. I realize that it's unavoidable that my own beliefs will influence theirs, but I will do what I can to minimize that. Raising them as freethinkers also means that they will be free to believe whatever makes sense to them, even if it's Catholicism. I do not feel that the inverse is true.

As for the "new, aggressive atheism", yes, it does step over the line sometimes. As serious as I am in my beliefs and as much as I despise religious beliefs, I try to stay reasonable. I do not attack religious individuals, verbally or otherwise, unless they assault me first. Any lashing-out that I do partake in is usually directed towards religion as a whole and not an individual.

But religion, especially Christianity, has been on the offensive for the last 15-20 years. Atheists are "nazis", "communists", "without morals" and, of course, we shouldn't be considered citizens according to George Bush MkI. Christianity has apparently grown tired of simply oppressing its own and now seeks to oppress everyone. Some of us are tired of it.