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Blasphemy Watch: Double Feature:
Lindsay Lohan Licks Gun, Dresses as Nun for 'Machete' (Popeater:AOL)Lindsay Lohan's 'Machete' promo poster is hidden deep on the movie's website, but it sure is causing a stir! Lohan -- who will begin her 90-day prison sentence on July 20 -- is dressed in a nun's habit and licking a gun. In the film, Lohan plays a gun-toting avenger called "The Sister."So the poster speaks for itself. You are supposed to be shocked by it. I think among people of Lohan's age, the image doesn't register as reality, except perhaps from a Halloween costume character: nun, pirate, princess, goth, etc.
I think I heard this from Fr. Benedict Groschel, CFR, "if virtue is mocked, a culture will self-destruct." (Virtue-driven Life)
Labels: advertising, Blasphemy, celebrity, culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:33 PM Permalink
Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of The Lord, Thy God In Vain.I swear to God, I'm fucking taking this ball and I'm shoving it down your fucking throat.
Labels: blashemy, culture, new york
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:49 PM Permalink
Georgetown University Hid Religious Symbols at White House Request: FoxNewsThe Reuters caption for the photo:
April 14: President Obama speaks about the economy at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall. The school covered up religious symbols bearing the name of Jesus during Obama's remarks at the behest of the White House.Catholic League: On Georgetown's cowardice
The Catholic League summarizes it well. I think we are making regress here: First it was separation of Church and State, then it was separation of religion from public life, and then we have arrived at separation of Catholic imagery from Catholic institutions -- of course on a voluntary basis. Just remember, this is the time of the green wood.
[Luke 23:27] A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!' for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?"
Labels: catholic, church-state, culture, obama
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:11 PM Permalink
Vale, Edward Cardinal EganI wish Cardinal Egan well in whatever assignment he receives from the Pope. It is ironic that he is getting the greatest amount of local television coverage now at his exit. This wasn't true with his three predecessors during my life. Cardinal Egan was the master of his ecclesial domain and confronting the culture of death was a secondary concern for him. It will take the perspective of history to judge if he left the Church in New York in better condition than he found it.
As I blogged earlier the Cardinal made himself a prisoner of precedent and invited candidate Obama to the Al Smith dinner on the basis that while he was pro-abortion, he wasn't Catholic, and therefore not subject to the Church's "discipline".
Best wishes as well for Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
Labels: church, culture, new york, obama, politics
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:05 PM Permalink
I see a pattern emerging (and I will explain the pirate picture)
In the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal it seems that legions of anonymous cowards have stepped forward to verbally defecate over every news item or blog posting that mentions "priest" to make a crude reference to child molestation. Before I give an example of this, so you too can recognize it, let me give you two core truths about the scandal of sexual abuse:
Many people hate the Catholic Church. It is just a sad fact of post-Enlightenment post-modern and post-Christian United States. The task at hand is to call them out. Answer them with charity or answer them with sarcasm -- whatever fits the circumstances and audience and your blogging skills. I've been doing this for 25 years starting with USENET and Compuserve, and I am not alone.
To the particular case of the Pirate and the Priest:
One has to feel sorry for Father Commolly. Whether or not he said what was attributed to him, his goose has been cooked by the narrative given by Paul and Peggy Kanigoski. We should all give Father tactical support. The statue in full is soft-porn like a Victoria Secrets ad. It is objectifying the image of women. However, this is not high on my list of priorities. Women walk around with less on top during the summer in New York or any major city in the US. Sex sells. I think it more important to tell people that images like this subtract from human dignity rather that letting the Kanigoski's claim a cheap Larry Flynt-like martyrdom, and open door to the the sneers of the stupid comment boxers.
The scandal was to a very large extent (perhaps as high as 80%), about homosexual relationships between priests and sexually mature males -- many under 18 and many over 18. Another segment was heterosexual relationships between priests and unmarried women over 18 (immoral but not illegal), and women who were married (which would be both immoral and legally actionable) and the smallest segment: sexually immature (i.e. prepubescent) boys and girls - illegal and morally depraved.
Sexual abuse of children respects no occupational boundaries: it occurs more frequently among public school teachers and doctors. There are child sexual abusers among police officers and fire fighters, politicians and Wall Street executives, show business types and Internet technologists, venture capitalists and bloggers. It is in no sense specially prevalent in the Catholic priesthood.
Here are the links:
Let me also mention that Curt Jester blogged on this earlier in the day. Labels: anti-catholic, blogs, culture, extreme
WNEP (video link), I think this is the origin
asylum.com anti-Catholic comments
Reading Eagle (editor's blog) anti-Catholic comments
Baltimore Sun
(comments)
Examiner blog (comments)
I have decided to post a modest picture of the statue. You can use your imagination or click on one of the above links.
posted by
Patrick Sweeney at 8:17 PM
Permalink
Vince of the Shamwow Commericals as you have never seen him before
I would think that if he had all that money from television, he would be able to afford a better relationship that this.
ShamWow Guy Bitten by Prostitute: 620 WTMJ
The Smoking Gun has the pictures
In our celebrity culture, I wonder if this help Vince Shlomi and Sasha Harris achieve some great fame.
Labels: crime, culture, observation
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 3:54 PM Permalink
Notre Dame betrays its Catholic Identity
Norte Dame which claims to have a Catholic identity has betrayed it. President Obama voted three times against a bill that would have made it clear that a child born alive in induced labor abortion procedure would have the right to life under Illinois law.
The greatest moral evil in the United States is abortion and it is opposed by the bishops of the Catholic Church and millions of Catholics and therefore by inviting President Obama, Norte Dame brings dishonor upon itself in honoring, as a Catholic university, President Obama.
Sign the petition http://www.notredamescandal.com/
Read about it http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/24/critics-blast-obamas-notre-dame-commencement-address/
Background on Obama's votes against a born-alive state law on RealClear politics
Labels: catholic, culture, obama, pro-life
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:59 AM Permalink
FOXNews.com - More Americans Say They Have No Religion
My focus
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990.
We Catholics are now reaping what we have sewn:
- Lack of interest on the part of parents to hand down the faith.
- A failure of basic instruction in what Catholics believe.
- Being a "no show" in the culture war.
On the other hand, I think someone who has given serious thought to the existence of God and rejected it at least is giving it the time to think. Perhaps, at the hour of death, an atheist may open up his heart to God. That's a worthy prayer intention for Lent.
Labels: atheism, church, culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:57 PM Permalink
(From October 22, 2008) Deifying Obama
Fox News Video Fr. Jonathan Morris on the Strategy Room
Worth another look now.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:39 PM Permalink
I await the the parody of Islam, the Haj, and Mecca in Pink Panther 3
Reuters: Steve Martin anti-Catholic buffoonSteve Martin's comic talent peaked in the 1980's. When I see the trailers of his newer movies I wince. No one thought his first Pink Panther was half as good as the Peter Sellers original. What's the point of a sequel to a lame remake.Looking relaxed and dressed smartly in a jacket and tie, Martin was asked whether he had asked the Pope's permission to shoot a lengthy scene set in the Vatican.
"We didn't ask permission because we didn't shoot in the Vatican. But I think the Catholic Church has been kidded and joked about for years. They're just used to it," Martin said.
"I believe the Catholic Church is very smart not to go crazy about it. When a religion is kidded and they get very serious, I think it shows they're insecure," he added. "I think the Catholic Church will probably last longer than this film.".
This article is one to clip as an early exhibit of anti-Catholicism in the culture in 2009.
Labels: anti-catholic, culture, media
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 7:48 PM Permalink
Videogames: Mixed Messages
Seeking Alpha:(Nintendo) Targeting Online Gaming for Middle Aged Players
An interesting article tracking that some of the first console videogame players (like 8-bit NES from 1985) are now entering middle age. When I was visiting MIT at age 15 in 1969 I saw the Spacewar! game.
Marketing types are smart about realizing that if you look at any age group -- people with different cultural experiences and tastes move through it each decade.
Some games are just going to mysteriously appeal to over 30's. Scores of marketers are trying to figure out how to match WII's broad age appeal.
Reuters: Lots of TV and Web harms kids' health
Spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web makes children more prone to a range of health problems including obesity and smoking, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.U.S. National Institutes of Health, Yale University and the California Pacific Medical Center experts analyzed 173 studies done since 1980 in one of the most comprehensive assessments to date on how exposure to media sources impacts the physical health of children and adolescents.
Labels: culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 6:22 PM Permalink
Speaking of charitable giving
I donated to catholicvote.org who produced this wonderful pro-life ad which NBC rejected (CWN) for the Super Bowl.
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 12:17 AM Permalink
My feedback to Fox News
If you ever mention Amy Fisher -- immediately follow it with this fact: she was originally charged with the attempted murder of Mary Jo Buttafuco and took a plea deal for assault. She does not deserve any free publicity. She pointed a gun at the head of a human being and pulled the trigger. It is a miracle her victim did not die.34-year-old Fisher is making a porno.
Labels: culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:41 PM Permalink
The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges are eternally part of the culture for people - especially kids - living in the New York Area in the 60's and 70's as the episodes filled up time on afternoon TV where there was really no programming. It took the Stooges out of obscurity and made them forever famous (but not wealthy or recognized when they were alive.)
YouTube has the fictionalized biography of the Three Stooges from Moe's viewpoint (not available on DVD/VHS) See also IMDB
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 9:14 PM Permalink
100 feet away from the New York Times building, they treat these New Yorkers like people from Mars
It's always fascinating to read how fascinated the New York Times reporters are with expressions of religious faith. Here's the latest quaint dispatch from the Times on those Catholics.
New York Times: Bishops’ Reinstatement a Relief for Some CatholicsRecommended ReadingA Roman Catholic Mass was held Sunday in Midtown Manhattan that seemed to be from another time. The women covered their heads with delicate lace veils and the priest said the Mass in Latin with his back to the congregation.
Their missals, or booklets, were dated 1962, the year that the Second Vatican Council began ushering modernization and openness into the Catholic Church, changes that the worshipers at Sunday’s Mass reject.
Labels: catholic, church, culture, traditionalism
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:23 PM Permalink
"I'm perfectly happy to say I'm a Roman Catholic and that doesn't mean I'm a nutter."
To even form such a statement tells you that something has gone terribly wrong.
This is from
UK Telegraph: Christians are becoming social pariahs in Britain, claims Jeremy VineThe Radio 2 host said that he feels unable to talk about his faith on his show because he fears how people would react.We weren't promised a world that would be friendly to us. In fact we were told to expect that the world would reject Christ and Christians. 2 Timothy 3:10 -- Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. I don't shout to the world "Bring it on!" -- but "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, Till all the world adore His sacred Name."He argues that society has become increasingly intolerant of the freedom to express religious views.
"You can't express views that were common currency 30 or 40 years ago," he said.
"Arguably, the parameters of what you might call 'right thinking' are probably closing.
"Sadly, along with that has come the fact that it's almost socially unacceptable to say you believe in God."
His comments follow the claim from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, that Britain is an "unfriendly" place for religious people to live.
We can no longer take for granted that the world and in particular the United States is aligned with Christianity. Think back to the year I was born -- the phrase "under God" was officially added to the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto proclaimed "In God We Trust" in 1956. It would be unthinkable today. Pushing religion out of public life and to the margins of the culture is something to be resisted and not acquiesced to.
Labels: anti-catholic, culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 10:31 PM Permalink
Patrick McGoohan has diedI loved this actor -- from his Disney run as the Scarecrow (1963, I'm 9) to Secret Agent to the Prisioner, to his guest star roles in Columbo... (1990's, I am 40)
Labels: celebrity, culture, obituary
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:06 PM Permalink
Catholic League: Gays Vandalize San Francisco Church
So this is the new tolerance.
The Catholic League thinks a share of the blame for this outrage goes to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for ignoring the routine insults the Catholic Church has in the public life of San Francisco.
When vandalism like this happens, there's a tendency to hush it up, lest others get ideas of their own and Churches get targeted more frequently.
Labels: anti-catholic, church, culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 11:01 PM Permalink
Kathy Griffin is vulgar, but is she funny?
Matt Drudge has this thing for CNN, so it makes sense that he would shine the spotlight on this
New York Post: HAPPY #*%! NEW YEAR TO YOU, TOO! COMIC KATHY LASHES OUT AT HECKLER ON CNN
Comedienne Kathy Griffin may be doomed to life on CNN's S-list after answering a heckler with a shrieking, vulgar tirade during the network's live New Year's Eve broadcast."Screw you," she told the heckler. "Why don't you get a job, buddy? You know what? I don't go to your job and knock the d- - - out of your mouth."
Whoever greenlighted Griffin for this gig is probably looking for a new job as well.
Well, it's a case of justice delayed here as people may recall that Griffin expressed some anti-religious biogtry in accepting an award,as the Catholic League reported
On September 8 [2007], at the 59th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards, comedian Kathy Griffin won Outstanding Reality Program for her Bravo show, “My Life on the D-List.” In her acceptance speech, Griffin said, “Suck it, Jesus, this award is my God now.” Fox will televise the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 16 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.I know, I know, her popularity is going to increase among Bravo's audience for this. It is the cult of celebrity, after all.
Labels: anti-catholic, celebrity, culture
posted by Patrick Sweeney at 8:03 PM Permalink