Bill Donohue always acts like a spoiled little child

It's hard to believe, but Mother Teresa is getting her own US postage stamp. She was a horrible woman who practiced the Christian ideal of poverty as a virtue by doing her very best to keep as many people poor and miserable as possible — and I hate to see the post office promoting her delusional cult. I sure won't be buying any of them, but I just know that much of my incoming hate mail will be plastered with them after September.

Having a stamp is not enough for Bill Donohue, however. He is stamping his little foot and demanding that the Empire State Building be lit up in blue and white in honor of the poisonous little promoter of pain and pauperdom on the day of the stamp's release. Gosh. And next year, when my wife gets me an iPad, a full body massage, and a submarine cruise to visit the squid in their natural habitat for my birthday, I'm going to rage and scream and pound my fists if she doesn't also get me a fireworks show. She must not really love me enough if she won't launch skyrockets for me.

Donohue has to spice up his tantrum by making a totally inappropriate comparison, too. He's not happy that a spokesman for the Empire State Building is stonewalling his demands.

Imagine a spokesman for the Vatican responding to a reporter about an indefensible decision made by a cardinal, and all he offers is, "there is no issue here." Better yet, imagine him saying, "I'm only telling you what I've been directed to say," and expecting the reporters to simply walk away disappointed.

Right. Like the Vatican would never make excuses and cover up bad decisions by Catholic priests. Did Donohue really want to go there? The first thing that came to my mind was that he seems to be making a comparison between priests raping children and refusing to acknowledge responsibility with a building refusing to switch on its lights according to a color scheme dictated by the Catholic League.

Good work, Bill! Keep reminding us of the sense of entitlement and privilege the Catholic Church has, with nice little fillips that bring up their penchant for child abuse. It's almost as if he's an atheist working from inside the establishment to bring it down.

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Doesn't he know that Teresa's letters indicate that she didn't even believe in God?

By Gus Snarp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Another victim of Tingly Ball Disease. Someone fetch the dart gun...

the poisonous little promoter of pain and pauperdom

I just wanted to say that was a lovely little alliteration. PZ, you don't get nearly enough praise for your prose. I read your posts about things I can't conceivably comprehend (most of the science is way above my head) just because your writing is so clear and inviting.

Oh, and Donohue can stuff it.

By https://www.go… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

She must not really love me enough if she won't launch skyrockets for me.

-->Oh, great. Now I have an earworm of the Starlight Vocal Band. Thanks, PZ.

Hi, PZ, I adore your blog. But, I have a question. I was raised by a Catholic family in a Catholic town (travelling home is always an adventure nowadays) and I never heard about the argument that Mother Teresa propagated poverty. I don't necessarily doubt it, but is there an article about this anywhere that I could look at? Thanks! Just trying to keep up with the times (or perhaps maintain the same distance behind them as always).

Imagine a spokesman for the Vatican responding to a reporter about an indefensible decision made by a cardinal, and all he offers is, "there is no issue here."

We don't have to imagine, you dumb piece of shit, because that's exactly what your precious Vatican is doing with the abuse issue.

Okay, that's too many douchbag posts in a row for me, PZ. I'm taking a hiatus before I dissolve into a full on apoplectic fit and start advocating religicide.

By Brownian, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Skyrockets in flight! Afternoon delight!

Sorry.

As for Teresa...read Hitchens' Missionary Position. She ran 'hospitals' where virtually no care was provided -- the dying were given a pallet to die on, and little more.

4fifteen: a good start is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ0i3nCx60

I can thank the Pharyngulites for having shown me this. I don't argue with theists often, but now I've been turned into an unpleasant, nay even strident person when it comes to discussions on Ma Teresa.

BillDo wants to get a tall, slim structure all lit up, does he? And he's all frustrated that it's just not happening for him....

Poor widdle Billy.

By Eamon Knight (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

if it's a catholic ceremony, perhaps there should be some child pornography on display as well. It seems to be a trend with the Catholics these days.

It's always amused me how much PZ's "Crazy Gumby" icon actually resembles Donohue...

By Celtic_Evolution (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Wait... maybe Bill Donahue is a deep-cover atheist! It would make so much sense really.

By pnrjulius (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

I am astonished by the delusion here.

The woman started schools, took care of the parts of society that everyone else ignored (the leprous, those with AIDS, the orphans, the poor, and many others). She is one of the most compassionate humans who has ever existed, and did more for humanity than most anyone else.

So you criticize the quality (or existence) or medical care in her hospitals. What would be better - to let them die in a gutter, or at least on a cot with people around to comfort them?

You criticize the fact that she spoke of an practiced the spiritual virtue of poverty. What would be better - to promise riches the people would never receive or ignore them from Europe?

The criticism about the Bill Donahue can be validly made. Frustration with the fact that a religious leader is honored with a stamp might be legitimate. Disagreement with Mother Teresa's spiritual message can obviously be voiced.

But slandering her as a horrible woman who sought to keep people poor is ridiculous. She practiced more real compassion than nearly anyone else on the face of the planet. If you fault her methods, fine, but to slander her person, that is childish and sounds petty. Until we do more, we are silly to whine.

I bet they light up the Golden Gate Bridge for the release of the Ba'al and Marduk stamps.

I doubt they'll post my comment on the Catlick League site

Looks like Catholics have grabbed an early lead in the "Biggest Douches of the 21st Century" competition.

By Capital Dan (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Those people under her "care" died in pain because those were the caresses of Jesus. And poverty was kept going because there was no attempt to teach these people birth control, the more children, the more poor one becomes.

Also, when this "caring" person got ill, she was not treated at her facility, she went to a modern hospital.

And she was damned quick to accept awards and accommodations from dictators from around the world.

She reveled in the suffering of the poor. And people like you call her compassionate. Thank you, sbreedlo, you have shown how either depraved and/or deluded you are.

By Janine, Mistre… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

She was an awful person, so committed to Catholicism that she neglected the human needs of her followers. Here's Christopher Hitchens:

Mother Teresa] was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction.

She fully endorsed the disastrous Catholic policies on family planning, in a country where one of the greatest problems was overpopulation.

I stand by what I said. She was a deluded monster.

#13
PZ isn't criticizing the quality of medical care in her hospitals, he is criticizing the complete lack of medical care in her hospitals. Rather than using the millions she recieved in donations to provide medical care (or even just clean drinking water) for the poor, she used it to build more convents.

Of course, when she herself had heart problems in the '90's, she flew to California for her heart surgery.

Her "compassion" for the poor was limited to watching them die.

I have nothing for contempt for someone who would say this:
I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people

Not only is Mother Teresa getting a USPS stamp, but so is atheist Katherine Hepburn. I know which one I'll be buying the next time I need a stamp.

By The Science Pundit (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Your wife's getting you all that? Really??? Wow, I feel like the kid who's just found out that $1.50 a week isn't the going rate for pocket money. I need to update my birthday list, now!

@ sbreedlo:

I forget who said it first, but "Only a beggar would extol charity as a virtue." That goes for poverty as well. Those who extol poverty as a virtue are looking for free drudge work, and they get it too.

According to ABC News this morning, the Vatican lawyers are trying to dodge the lawsuit against Ratz using the premise that the Cardinals are not employees of the Vatican. Did I just hear a rooster crow? No, we don't have to imagine, Bill, The Rolling Doughnut-hole.

By https://www.go… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Imagine a spokesman for the Vatican responding to a reporterthe Trophy WifeTM about... going [in]to [a] rage and scream and pound my her fists if she doesn't also get me a fireworks show [from the duomo of St. Peter's]. She must not really love me enough if she won't [get them to] launch skyrockets for me.

There, now we're talkin' about True LoveTM

By natural cynic (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Step 1: Inject Bill Donahue with some horrible disease (Perhaps Syphilis? I always found the name hilarious for some reason).
Step 2: Have him spend a week receiving "Medical Care" from a place similar to the "Hospitals" run by Ma Terry.
Step 3: Take him to a real hospital for comparison.
Step 4: Ask him how he feels about those stamps.
Step 5: ????
Step 6: Profit

@ sbreedlo,

Teresa was one of those religious sickos who believed that misery and suffering are good because they bring one closer to god. She was not motivated to help the poor as much as she was driven, by her own twisted beliefs, to use the poor to promote catholic oppression around the world. This is evidenced by the fact that when it came to her own health, she sought the best healthcare western medicine could supply.

The sweet irony of her reign of terror was that somewhere near the end of her miserable life, she lost her own faith -- making her life's work, from her point of view (we hope), a complete and pointless waste of time.

I don't want to use them because they're UGLY

Ugh. Great, an evil, cruel hypocrite gets a stamp. The only thing that woman's memory deserves is to be tossed in the dust and forgotten. She was a one woman horror show.

Imagine a spokesman for the Vatican responding to a reporter about an indefensible decision made by a cardinal, and all he offers is, "there is no issue here."

Ol' Bill really has had his eyes shut and fingers in his ears lately, hasn't he? He continues to be extremely dangerous to my irony meters.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Is this the first stamp in a series? That's how they're usually introduced over here. I imagine that Pol Pot is up next. Perhaps Tito, though I s'pose that would break with the atheist theme.

By Sili, The Unkn… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Yeah, I'm sort of tripping along with Brownian.

Imagine?

Imagine?

Yeah, wow. That's some chutzpah. Imagine that crazy, insane world where Catholic bishops ever stonewalled the press about their indefensible statements on public health, the rampant rape of children and the continued attempts to deny any means of justice of reaching them, or their support of dictatorships around the world.

What a crazy world that'd be if that happened once. What an outcry that'd generate!

Thank Billy Bob Gringo in the Sky we live in this world, where that only happens all the goddamned mother fucking time.

I'm sorry, I just can't get any further than that. It's such an insane example with such a deliberate ignorance of the basic reality he inhabits, it's like hearing someone deny the existence of elephants as your standing in front of the Elephant Pit at the zoo.

Half your brain is wondering just how to respond and the other half is just telling you you should push him into the "empty" enclosure.

Good old Mother Teresa:

One day I met a lady who was dying of cancer in a most terrible condition. And I told her, I say, "You know, this terrible pain is only the kiss of Jesus — a sign that you have come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you." And she joined her hands together and said, "Mother Teresa, please tell Jesus to stop kissing me".

(From here)

By Miranda Celeste Hale (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

But slandering her as a horrible woman who sought to keep people poor is ridiculous.

Unless of course you go on evidence and not merely reputation...

By Celtic_Evolution (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

What is this "postage stamp" of which you speak of? Is it kind of like a digital signature?

As for Mother Teresa, the only sad thing about her is that she wasted her whole life endorsing a lie, and never became aware of this fact.

Alan Turing was on this earth for less than half the time, and contributed much more to the enrichment of society and empowerment of individuals then Mother Theresa, not to mention Bill Donahue (whose only similarities with Turing is his sexual preferences).

grudgegk:

As for Mother Teresa, the only sad thing about her is that she wasted her whole life endorsing a lie, and never became aware of this fact.

I think she was aware of it. All too well, as a matter of fact. It did come to light that she didn't believe in the whole god con; it didn't stop her from inflicting agonies on people. She didn't have any problems with being a hypocrite when it came to her healthcare.

I've heard too many people say "oh, it was so sad that she lost her faith, yada yada yada." I claim bullshit. It wasn't sad at all. Lots and lots of people lose their faith and don't indulge in cruelties beyond the pale towards others. Most people become better people when they lose their faith because they think about things more and are taking personal responsibility.

When it comes to nasty Teresa, when she did proclaim belief, she had no problems using her faith to justify monstrous acts; after she lost her faith, she continued with monstrous acts. That says one hell of a lot about just what kind of a person she was - no matter how you slice it, she comes up stinking.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Josh @ 26:

...they've selected a new portrait for the stamp.

In the words of the philosopher James Brown, "Good God!"

Looks like Audrey II from Little Sop of Horrors.

The best comment on 'Mother' Teresa I read was, I believe, in the comments of this very blog, and it was 'Munchausen's Syndrome gone global'. I think it was exactly that.

I personally wonder did she have Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The lack of empathy combined with the need for adulation would indicate that. Christopher Hitchens makes a good point that even her own austerity was so extreme that it was ostentatious (e.g. a 5 rupee sari and a bus ride to meet a head of state).

Another good expose of 'Mother' Teresa is by Dr Aroup Chatterjee: http://www.meteorbooks.com/introduction.html

Click it. You know you want to.

Skyrockets

You can thank me later.

PS, fuck Momma T, sideways, with a Leica rangefinder.

By boygenius (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Mother Teresa wallowed in the pain, suffering, and death of others because she believed it brought them closer to God. Her main death house in India was literally that, a house set up for the poor to come and die in. It apparently never occurred to her to provide any kind of medical or even palliative care to them. Hell, they didn't even use boiling water to sterilize the needles, just running them through tap water instead! She was quoted as saying that the poor should just "wear it," to just accept that they were poor. But...

...She also flew all over the world accepting awards and donations, and rather than using that money to build a proper hospital (or at least stock her facility like a proper hospital) she'd just use it for her own ends. She accepted large donations from the Duvalier family of Haiti, who had stolen the money from the Haitian people. She wrote letters to Judge Ito in defense of Charles Keating, arguing he had donated large amounts of money to the her organization and begging him to ask himself "WWJD?" as if that could excuse crimes.

Do we need to go on? And people call this woman compassionate. Maybe in some warped parallel universe where "compassionate" means "a delusional person with a warped sense of human rights."

PS, fuck Momma T, sideways, with a Leica rangefinder.

no no no no no no NO

Give me the Leica, I'll find a suitable pointy armadillo for Mama T.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Thanks, boygenius. Reminds me of listening to the radio while hosing out the hog houses in Alabama in the late 1970s. How appetizing. And why do I still know all the words?

Bill Donohue wants everyone to know that the policies of the Catholic Church are of great benefit to the young people of the world (as long as you don't spend too much time with the priests, I guess). He told me so himself in a bogus survey/fundraiser letter he sent me.

Rev,

I offer you this.

Even better than the Lieca, no?

By boygenius (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

But slandering her as a horrible woman who sought to keep people poor is ridiculous. She practiced more real compassion than nearly anyone else on the face of the planet. If you fault her methods, fine, but to slander her person, that is childish and sounds petty. Until we do more, we are silly to whine.

Yes and John Wayne Gacy was really just a happy clown who loved to perform at children's parties.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

It depends. Can you tell me where to find an idiot troll that thinks because he doesn't want to discuss something that no one else should?

Bill Donahue reminds me of Dudley Dursley from the Harry Potter series.

"Thirty-six presents?! LAST year there were THIRTY-SEVEN!!!!! *shriek*"

Even better than the Lieca, no?

damn you

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

Why? You planning on going there to tell them how the fuck they should run their blog too?

By Celtic_Evolution (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

[blockquote]It depends. Can you tell me where to find an idiot troll that thinks because he doesn't want to discuss something that no one else should?[/blockquote]

You misunderstand. The internet is a very big place and I can assure you that if I wanted to find another blog in which one group hurls insults at another until the end of days, I could. A good blog that discusses biology and evolution, on the other hand... that's rather hard to come by.

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

protoposthuman:

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

It's our understanding that there are other science blogs at ScienceBlogs (duh!) if you don't like this one. Also, there are plenty of posts and discussions on biological topics in the Pharyngula archives section. Some are quite recent, but...

You don't really care about biology do you? You're just trying to make some lame, tired-assed point about "those mean ol' atheists disrespectin' religion, when they should be discussin' biology an shit."

You fail. We've heard it all before from god-bots, far less stupid than you. Did Donahue send you over here?

BTW, your username perfectly matches your apparent intellect.

Wait... maybe Bill Donahue is a deep-cover atheist! It would make so much sense really.

"In all my life I have made but one little prayer: 'Lord, make mine enemies foolish.'"

I'd rather hate to be counted on the same team as Donohue. And anyway I don't see anything in his behaviour that doesn't make him look like a good, faithful Catholic. Thank god.

By Sili, The Unkn… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

?You misunderstand. The internet is a very big place and I can assure you that if I wanted to find another blog in which one group hurls insults at another until the end of days, I could. A good blog that discusses biology and evolution, on the other hand... that's rather hard to come by.

I understand completely. The internet is a big place, so there are few things stupider than going out of one's way to post on someone else's blog about how little the particular subject matter interests them.

Shorter me: fuck off.

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

Someone call the waaaaaahbulance....

Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal

...and the literacy-mobile.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

You misunderstand. The internet is a very big place and I can assure you that if I wanted to find another blog in which one group hurls insults at another until the end of days, I could. A good blog that discusses biology and evolution, on the other hand... that's rather hard to come by.

As Skepchick Prime recently said (in nicer words) LTFG.

And to misquote one of my favourite linguists (again): "Labels are not fucking definitions." Do you read Boing Boing expecting it to be all pogosticks and slinkies?

By Sili, The Unkn… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

What would be better - to let them die in a gutter, or at least on a cot with people around to comfort them?

False fucking dichotomy.

It's our understanding that there are other science blogs at ScienceBlogs (duh!) if you don't like this one. Also, there are plenty of posts and discussions on biological topics in the Pharyngula archives section. Some are quite recent, but...

Oh yes, there are science posts on this blog. And I most certainly do enjoy those when they appear. But everyone who reads this blog knows that the expectation is that PZ is going to yell at this Christian or that Christian more often that he's going to discuss science.

You don't really care about biology do you? You're just trying to make some lame, tired-assed point about "those mean ol' atheists disrespectin' religion, when they should be discussin' biology an shit."

Couldn't be further from the truth. I just think that a blog that professes to be about science - and given that it's hosted on scienceblogs.com and its title is an obscure reference to developmental biology - it should be more about science than other subjects.

You fail. We've heard it all before from god-bots, far less stupid than you. Did Donahue send you over here?
BTW, your username perfectly matches your apparent intellect.

Haha. No. No no no. If I post a little more, you'd probably label me one of those mean 'ol accomodationists.

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Oh yes, there are science posts on this blog. And I most certainly do enjoy those when they appear. But everyone who reads this blog knows that the expectation is that PZ is going to yell at this Christian or that Christian more often that he's going to discuss science.

Yeah, and?

Couldn't be further from the truth. I just think that a blog that professes to be about science - and given that it's hosted on scienceblogs.com and its title is an obscure reference to developmental biology - it should be more about science than other subjects.

It's not your blog. What you think matters not.

Haha. No. No no no. If I post a little more, you'd probably label me one of those mean 'ol accomodationists.

Thanks for the warning. It explains quite a lot.

I read about Mother Teresa's horrible little hospitals. And not just from Hitchens. But many other articles.

She was really a piece of work. Taking stolen money from Charles Keating and not spending it on the poor and needy for whom she solicited the funds.

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

Find a second grader and ask them what an "internet search engine" or "Google" is.

Or just check in at Troll Central and find out where the other trolls are going today.

Haha. No. No no no. If I post a little more, you'd probably label me one of those mean lame 'ol accomodationists.

Fixed

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Sili, The Unknown Virgin:

Do you read Boing Boing expecting it to be all pogosticks and slinkies?

No, I read Boing Boing expecting to get a mix of tech, gadget, science, business, entertainment art/design, culture, action, news, and weird posts and I'm mostly not disappointed.

tsg:

It's not your blog. What you think matters not.

True. Fortunately, PZ Meyers is a nice enough guy to allow commenting on his posts, so I thought I'd give my snarky opinion and see what snarky replies I could get in return.

My point is this: Everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that Christians are terrible people who will probably burn in hell, and they don't need any convincing of that. But not everyone who reads this blog knows exactly how developmental biology works, because that's a complex subject that takes years of training and education to master.

So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

True. Fortunately, PZ Meyers is a nice enough guy to allow commenting on his posts, so I thought I'd give my snarky opinion and see what snarky replies I could get in return.

In other words, trolling.

My point is this: Everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that Christians are terrible people who will probably burn in hell, and they don't need any convincing of that. But not everyone who reads this blog knows exactly how developmental biology works, because that's a complex subject that takes years of training and education to master.

So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

Your concern is noted.

My point is this: Everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that Christians are terrible people who will probably burn in hell, and they don't need any convincing of that.

sigh.

But not everyone who reads this blog knows exactly how developmental biology works, because that's a complex subject that takes years of training and education to master.
So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

Again you're trying to define what you think this blog should be. This is PZ's blog and he posts what he wants and, I may be going out on a limb here, the regulars are regulars exactly for that reason.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

so I thought I'd give my snarky opinion and see what snarky replies I could get in return.

Yet, not a troll...

I just think that a blog that professes to be about science - and given that it's hosted on scienceblogs.com and its title is an obscure reference to developmental biology - it should be more about science than other subjects.

Yes yes we all know this is about what you think the blog should be to satisfy you, but not about what PZ whose blog it is wants.

And you could read the subtitle if you'd like some help.

Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

proto:

Hi. Does anyone know where I can find a good science blog that discusses biology?

You know, don't you, that this idiotic tactic has been tried before, many a time? Be refreshing, just get your whinging, moaning and hand-wringing out in the open. As to a serious answer to your trolling - search functions. Learn them.

But everyone who reads this blog knows that the expectation is that PZ is going to yell at this Christian or that Christian more often that he's going to discuss science.

That didn't take too long. If everyone knows, why don't you? If, as you claim, you do know there's going to be a fair amount of religious based content, why bother to show up to whinge about it? You're just trolling and want to try and slap us all for being not nice peoples. This has been done before too. Boring, very little effort. You're not going to get a passing grade at this point.

I just think that a blog that professes to be about science - and given that it's hosted on scienceblogs.com and its title is an obscure reference to developmental biology - it should be more about science than other subjects.

You're repeating yourself. Again, we've heard all of this before, damn near word for word. Boring. Dr. Myers is based in the U.S. and religion constantly intrudes into government, education and science (think Collins), so it's an appropriate topic whether you like it or not.

Haha. No. No no no. If I post a little more, you'd probably label me one of those mean 'ol accomodationists.

Yeah, as if we can't figure you out. *yawn* By the way, accommodationists aren't mean, they're lame and weak in the brain. They exhibit behaviour much like yours. Speaking of which, they have a lovely little internet home where you'd be welcomed with open arms.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

PZ Meyers

And, for fuck's sake, you could also spell his name correctly.

It is written at the top of this blog.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

No, I read Boing Boing expecting to get a mix of tech, gadget, science, business, entertainment art/design, culture, action, news, and weird posts and I'm mostly not disappointed.

Then why get so hung up on the domain hosting this blog having the word "science" in it?

By Sili, The Unkn… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

googlemess @ 21:

According to ABC News this morning, the Vatican lawyers are trying to dodge the lawsuit against Ratz using the premise that the Cardinals are not employees of the Vatican.

Which ABC? Which lawsuit?

Link?

By Paul W., OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Rev. BigDumbChimp:

sigh.

I know. My sarcasm can be rather annoying sometimes. I'm working on it.

Again you're trying to define what you think this blog should be. This is PZ's blog and he posts what he wants and, I may be going out on a limb here, the regulars are regulars exactly for that reason.

I'm not trying to tell PZ Myers (sorry for spelling his name wrong earlier) what to do. I'm just discussing what I think would make his blog super rad. You all seem to disagree, and that's fine by me.

But I'd like to believe - in my deluded little head of mine - that there are others out there who would like science blogs to be more about science than about bashing religion. *shrug*

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

It's Myers. (but at least you're following all the finer points of trolling Pharyngula.)

Do you have any hobbies? What "service" do they provide to the public? Why should PZ's hobby provide a service to the public according to your expectations?

As a professor of biology at UMM, I imagine he does a fine job "teach[ing]...facts about his actual area of expertise." Maybe you should enroll.

Posted by: sbreedlo | May 18, 2010 11:57 AM

I am astonished by the delusion here.

A delusion, in everyday language, is a fixed belief that is either false, fanciful, or derived from deception.

The woman started schools, took care of the parts of society that everyone else ignored (the leprous, those with AIDS, the orphans, the poor, and many others). She is one of the most compassionate humans who has ever existed, and did more for humanity than most anyone else.

She left them to die in pain. She took in MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of dollars EVER YEAR. And spent virtually NONE of it on those people. Virtually none.

She jet-setted around the globe. She did her PR. She went to the very best hospitals, ate the very best food and was treated like a queen.

And, on rare occasions, would run a PR stunt to keep up the image while otherwise letting poor people suffer and die from neglect. Including people who would have lived if they'd even have made a half-assed attempt at providing care.

So you criticize the quality (or existence) or medical care in her hospitals. What would be better - to let them die in a gutter, or at least on a cot with people around to comfort them?

No, troll. What makes her evil is the millions upon millions of dollars she took in then REFUSED TO SPEND ON GIVING THEM MEDICAL CARE.

That's FRAUD. And that's what she did. She took in millions of dollars to help the poor AND DID NOT SPEND IT ON THEM.

Now, if she didn't have those millions and millions of dollars, she'd be blameless. If she was poor and destitute, and did her very best with no resources, then she'd have been worthy of the adulation.

But that's not the case. She took in more money than Jesus. Then kept it.

You criticize the fact that she spoke of an practiced the spiritual virtue of poverty. What would be better - to promise riches the people would never receive or ignore them from Europe?

Once again, it goes back to fraud. She speaks of helping the poor then taking in millions and millions (every year by the way). This money does not go to the poor. It doesn't help them.

But slandering her as a horrible woman who sought to keep people poor is ridiculous. She practiced more real compassion than nearly anyone else on the face of the planet. If you fault her methods, fine, but to slander her person, that is childish and sounds petty. Until we do more, we are silly to whine.

Dude, the woman's own words condemn her for this attitude. Don't act like PZ, or any other critic of Mother Teresa the Fraud are making this shit up. She was quite clear the poor should remain poor and suffering was their lot.

She was a sadist.

What makes her worse, though, is that huge charitable fraud she ran. Millions of people, like myself, gave her money to help and save people. Only to be found that they were betrayed by a sadistic con-artist.

She was a fraud. She bilked millions out of millions. Virtually NONE of which went to its stated purpose of helping the poor (which she had no intention of helping making her pleas truely fraudulent).

But I'd like to believe - in my deluded little head of mine - that there are others out there who would like science blogs to be more about science than about bashing religion. *shrug*

I said, "your concern is noted."

Protoposthuman--

This is PZ's blog, not yours or mine. He doesn't work for us. If you want to be able to specify what someone will blog about, post a help-wanted ad. If the pay rate is good, you can probably get what you're asking for. But I suspect you won't get an answer if your ad says "Wanted: blogger to write only about developmental and other biology. Must post at least 4 times a week. Must be PZ Myers."

Failing that, there's probably some biology over in the MIT Open Courseware.

--Vicki, in search of an interesting handle

So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

Ah, there it is. Shorter prototroll: Stop pointing out how stupid christianity is and talk about something else.

As for "actual area of expertise. We can't speak for PZ, but as a 40+ year victim of religious upbringing, we'd say that makes us pretty damn near a fucking expert on christianty -- and the same can probably be said for many of the other posters here.

You fail again ProTroll.

My point is this: Everyone who regularly reads this blog knows that Christians are terrible people who will probably burn in hell, and they don't need any convincing of that.

I don't know that anybody is going to burn in hell. Why don't you demonstrate that such a place exists.

But not everyone who reads this blog knows exactly how developmental biology works, because that's a complex subject that takes years of training and education to master. So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

And I'm sure not everybody here knows how a plasma TV works. Maybe he should teach us about that. And fucking magnets, how do they work? Seriously though. Why should PZ limit his blogging to only what you think he should? Are there not already places on the Internet to get information about developmental biology? Should everybody who knows anything about evo devo limit themselves to only blogging about that one topic to the exclusion of all others? Do you realize how fucking stupid that is?

But I'd like to believe - in my deluded little head of mine - that there are others out there who would like science blogs to be more about science than about bashing religion.

There are, I already provided a link for you, but since you seem to be having problems, here it is again: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2010/

You are not remotely interested in science. If you were, you'd be busily going through the myriad of blogs on sciblogs. Go find science, then, if you'd care to display non-troll behaviour.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Caine, Fleur du mal:

You know, don't you, that this idiotic tactic has been tried before, many a time?

Nope. I've stayed out of the comments section until now. But today I decided that I was tired of wading through boring religion posts looking for the few gems of actual science-y posts, and I came to the conclusion that everyone needed to know my exceedingly important and valuable opinion on the subject.

Yeah, as if we can't figure you out. *yawn* By the way, accommodationists aren't mean, they're lame and weak in the brain. They exhibit behaviour much like yours. Speaking of which, they have a lovely little internet home where you'd be welcomed with open arms.

No! I don't want to read some stupid blog about religious people and non-religious people getting along. I want to read about the fact that it's super amazing that a single cell can develop into an entire human being or an entire whale or an entire dinosaur. That's awesome, guys, fucking awesome. Don't you all want to read about that, too?

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

"Everyone is being asked to not only sign our petition (click here), but to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.

Also contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com"

From one of many Donohue press releases (besides shouting, this is what he does for a living).

I'm not trying to tell PZ Myers (sorry for spelling his name wrong earlier) what to do. I'm just discussing what I think would make his blog super rad. You all seem to disagree, and that's fine by me.
But I'd like to believe - in my deluded little head of mine - that there are others out there who would like science blogs to be more about science than about bashing religion. *shrug*

Do you go see a movie about World War Two and then come out saying you wish that it was more about the Automotive industry in the late 1930's and early 1940's?

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

So would PZ Meyers be doing a greater service if he managed to get a few more atheists angry at the Christians or if he managed to teach us all interesting facts about his actual area of expertise?

Concern troll is... concerned...

So solipsistic! Bill obviously imagines that if he finds something important, then everyone else must either find it as important as he does, or HATE it. It must be very turing and disappointing to think that everyone is the world needs to consult you personally before making any decision on anything, which must be why he is so constantly bitter and upset. Well, if he's that upset, then he brought it on himself by being a self-centrered ass.

By UppruniTegundanna (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

I'm just discussing what I think would make his blog super rad

Which has what exactly to do with Bill Donohue or Mother Teresa?

I don't want to read some stupid blog about religious people and non-religious people getting along. I want to read about the fact that it's super amazing that a single cell can develop into an entire human being or an entire whale or an entire dinosaur.

Then what the fuck are you doing here? Go use the search tool at the top and find a post about something that interests you and comment on that instead.

Do you habitually look for people doing X and complaining that they aren't doing Y? I mean, wouldn't Starbucks being doing a better service to the world if they stopped selling coffee altogether and starting researching cancer treatment?

Caine, Fleur du mal:

You are not remotely interested in science. If you were, you'd be busily going through the myriad of blogs on sciblogs. Go find science, then, if you'd care to display non-troll behaviour.

One of the ideas about natural selection that I think is really awesome is the idea that non-adaptive traits didn't not happen, they just didn't survive for us to see them. Similarly, my browsing of other blogs that do contain science hasn't not happened, it just hasn't happened to have left any evidence on PZ Myers' blog.

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Here you go Proto

Go there and pick a category that interests you and comment away.

And please keep your whining out of posts on things you don't want to read about. You chose to open this thread and read at least some of it. No one forced you.

Like the old saying goes, if you don't like what's on the radio, you can always change the fucking channel.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

That's awesome, guys, fucking awesome. Don't you all want to read about that, too?

No! I wanna read more of your whining that this blog isn't more to your liking! That would be the most fuckingest awesomist fucking awesome EVAR!

One of the ideas about natural selection that I think is really awesome is the idea that non-adaptive traits didn't not happen, they just didn't survive for us to see them. Similarly, my browsing of other blogs that do contain science hasn't not happened, it just hasn't happened to have left any evidence on PZ Myers' blog.

PZ's blog posts about science didn't not happen, you're just too clueless to find them.

prototroll:

Don't you all want to read about that, too?

We do read about that stuff. Right here on Pharyngula. If you weren't so busy being a faithiest assclown, you might be aware of that.

I'm just discussing what I think would make his blog super rad

Simple solution: start your own blog. Now, as this subject has nothing at all to do with the topic of this thread, shut the fuck up. If you really can't stop trolling, take it to the endless thread.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

If you really can't stop trolling, take it to the endless thread.

Link for the searching impaired.

I think PZed teaches biology at some University somewhere. If you want to receive instruction in "super amazing", "fucking awesome" sciency-stuff, you should finish junior-high, graduate high school, gain admission to his University, pay your tuition, take the pre-requisite courses and finally enroll in one of his courses.

This is a blog.

Rev. BigDumbChimp:

Do you go see a movie about World War Two and then come out saying you wish that it was more about the Automotive industry in the late 1930's and early 1940's?

Fight Club is one of my favorite movies but I never saw it in theaters because it was advertised as being about soap, a subject about which I care very little.

Had there been some way to correctly advertise it as an existential mindfuck, I might have seen it when it came out instead of randomly flipping to it on TV years later and having the ending ruined for me because I started watching halfway through. This is a tragedy that haunts me to this day.

Back on topic, if this blog's subtitle were more accurate, perhaps I wouldn't have felt the selfish need to proclaim the superiority of my opinion to all other lesser opinions, including that of PZ Myers himself.

Then again, it's possible that "random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal" is meant to be taken more metaphorically than I've been interpreting it so far.

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

I give proto a 2 out of 10 for his trolling. Same old boring concern troll shit, so he drops to a 5 for no imagination. Then he can't grasp the concept that this is PZ's blog, and PZ does what he wants with it. Proto is irrelevant to PZ's desires. That knocks him down to a three. Then the good Rev. having to put forward the change the channel advice, knocks him down to a 2. Boring, inane, and lights on, nobody home poster...

By Nerd of Redhead, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Thanks Paul for a much needed eye opener about the Ghoul of Calcutta.

Danu
Another good expose of 'Mother' Teresa is by Dr Aroup Chatterjee: http://www.meteorbooks.com/introduction.html

Hitchens relied extensively on Dr.Chatterjee's research on the Ghoul. Aroup is from Calcutta, and lives and practices medicine in the UK. His book "The Final Verdict" is a revolting expose of the MT racket and the charlatan who ran it. All 14 chapters of the book used to be available on line, and I gave up around Chapter 7. Being from India and very familiar with Calcutta I thought I knew about this vampire, but I was not prepared for the extent of her callousness and sanctimony. You can buy the book online and help Dr. Chatterjee continue bringing the work of this ghoul to light.

MT's "charitable" work if you can call it that is inconsequential. In the city of Calcutta itself the largest charitable hospital is run by Hindu religious order (Ramakrishna Mission) so don't expect anyone to write about it. As for rehabilitating leprosy patients the Indian exemplar is Muralidhar Amte fondly known as Baba (elder) Amte. You can read more about him here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Amte. And there is an organization that feeds over 1 million daily underprivileged children across five Indian cities to keep the children in school. You can read about them here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshaya_Patra_Foundation. These are not charities, they are run professionally by well trained professionals.

By jbeck.myopenid.com (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Back on topic

That is not on topic. The topic is Mother Teresa.

protoTroll:

Similarly, my browsing of other blogs that do contain science hasn't not happened, it just hasn't happened to have left any evidence on PZ Myers' blog.

WTF!? English please.

Look, pooTroll. Pharyngula is one of the premiere blogs on the web for highlighting the utter nonsense that is religious belief. As you say, everyone knows that. In this position, Pharyngula attracts some of the biggest names in the trollosphere. We're therefore sorry to say, that we have taken your measure, and that you sir, have been found wanting.

Please, bring something fresh... dare we say it.... something fierce, to the discussion. So far, your off-the-rack, standard transmission, basic cable comments are really, really boring.

At the very least, you try signing off your comments with an "I'll pray for you."

Come on. Try harder.

They really must hate Christians at the Empire State Building when Bill admits they light it red and green for Christmas and green for St. Patrick's Day.

Yea, what a whiny butt.

Back on topic, if this blog's subtitle were more accurate, perhaps I wouldn't have felt the selfish need to proclaim the superiority of my opinion to all others. . .

Jesus H. Christ tomatoes on toast, would you shut up? Someone slap a pacifier in pissy baby's mouth, please?

By Josh, Official… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

PZ's blog posts about science didn't not happen, you're just too clueless to find them.

We do read about that stuff. Right here on Pharyngula. If you weren't so busy being a faithiest assclown, you might be aware of that.

As I've already said, I have read and quite enjoyed his more science-oriented posts. I didn't say he didn't post about science, just that I think it would be way cool if he posted about science more.

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Fight Club is one of my favorite movies but I never saw it in theaters because it was advertised as being about soap, a subject about which I care very little.

holy shit.

/facepalm

Then again, it's possible that "random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal" is meant to be taken more metaphorically than I've been interpreting it so far.

Whether you can understand the subtitle to the blog or not has exactly zero to do with what it is about. And when you found that it wasn't what you wanted or thought it should be, you should

change

the

fucking

channel.

Or appreciate it for what it is.

Not whine about how great it could be if only he would make it what you want it to be.

This is a concept you seem incapable of grasping.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Back on topic, if this blog's subtitle were more accurate, perhaps I wouldn't have felt the selfish need to proclaim the superiority of my opinion to all other lesser opinions, including that of PZ Myers himself.

Shorter protoTroll: "This blog is teh suxorz, but I can't stop posting here. How pathetic am I?"

Then again, it's possible that "random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal" is meant to be taken more metaphorically than I've been interpreting it so far.

Still assuming that your opinion matters?

KOPD:

That is not on topic. The topic is Mother Teresa.

^This. Now, to repeat for the hard of thinking:

The topic is Mother Teresa & Bill Donohue
The topic is Mother Teresa & Bill Donohue
The topic is Mother Teresa & Bill Donohue
The topic is Mother Teresa & Bill Donohue
The topic is Mother Teresa & Bill Donohue

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Fight Club is one of my favorite movies but I never saw it in theaters because it was advertised as being about soap, a subject about which I care very little.

OK, now protoposthuman's just yankin' our chain -- certainly no one is this stupid.

What was M. Terry doing with all that money she collected? I mean, she didn't habitually dress like Ratzi with the Prada shoes.

Was she just turning it all over to the Vatican? Does it take millions to start a bunch of convents? Building in India is significantly cheaper than in the West (cost of labor), but perhaps the land is more expensive?

Maybe we should track down her money and use it to buy more strings of pearls for the concern trolls.

@Tulse
I don't know. I'm inclined to believe that comment about soap.

...Mother Teresa is getting her own US postage stamp.

Ugh! Now THERE'S a stamp I'd NEVER lick.

By ecpaulsen (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

tsg:

Shorter protoTroll: "This blog is teh suxorz, but I can't stop posting here. How pathetic am I?"

You don't know the half of it. I'm also still in my robe and I haven't showered today because I'm a jobless bum.

Still assuming that your opinion matters?

No, I'm assuming that if I post my opinion, people will respond, and then a discussion can be had. Stating an opinion is not the same as stating that your opinion is correct or that your opinion matters. I enjoy discussion far more than I enjoy talking about how right I always am.

By protoposthuman (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

As I've already said, I have read and quite enjoyed his more science-oriented posts.

Wait... how can that be when you so clearly stated in your very first post that you simply do not know where oh where to find them on this blog? You even asked for assistance in the search effort.

How can you be an "accomodationist" and yet not realize how much of a complete raging asshole you are? Not very nice of you... the whiny tone-concerned slappywags at the Intersection would NOT be pleased.

By Celtic_Evolution (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

certainly no one is this stupid.

If I had a nickel for every time I thought that and ended up being wrong, I'd have, like, a whole bunch of nickels.

And protoTroll, since your purpose here is to derail the thread by steering it away from the topic at hand -- the Ghoul of Calcutta -- this ones for you:

Mother Teresa calls all the nuns together and says to them, I must tell you something. We have a case of gonorrhea in the convent.

Thank God, says an elderly nun in the back. I'm so tired of the chardonnay.

Hey, feel free to share this one with your faithiest buddies.

There was a comment about Mother Teresa in here somewhere that I wanted to read, but I can't find it.

By Gus Snarp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

I don't understand why Donohue gets so upset about this. As far as I know, the Empire State Building is a privately owned building, so complaining that the owners are not setting up the lights the way he wants makes about as much sense as complaining that your neightbour across the street is not doing it either.

Posted by: Qwerty | May 18, 2010 2:35 PM
"Everyone is being asked to not only sign our petition (click here), but to write to Anthony Malkin. His address is Malkin Properties, One Grand Central Place 60, E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165.
Also contact Melanie Maasch at the Empire State Building: mmaasch@esbnyc.com"
From one of many Donohue press releases (besides shouting, this is what he does for a living).

A few days ago, I started a little counter-campaign of sorts, asking people to e-mail Melanie Maasch to urge her/the Empire State Building not to give in to Donohue's shouty and ridiculous temper-tantrum (or, as he calls it, a "worldwide campaign"). From comments left at my blog and on Facebook, etc., I'd say that at least 50 people sent emails. It's not much, but it's something. So, yes, I'd definitely send her an email of support. She's probably getting a boatload of emails from angry and self-righteous Catholics right now, and doing something to counteract that might help.

By Miranda Celeste Hale (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

concern troll doesn't understand how blogs work. You see, someone writes a blog about what they want to write about (for FREE), and if it happens to interest people, they come and read it and tell their friends. That's the glorious nature of blogs. The tradeoff for not being beholden to the interests of an editor, advertisers, or consumers is that you make little or no money. PZ has a job teaching biology. If you would like a lesson in biology, feel free to help pay his salary.

Also, Fight club was not advertised as being "about soap". I've kind of come to dislike the movie becaue of the morons who like it (and misunderstand it), but in high school I could tell from the ads that it was going to be weird and pretty good. The ending was cool precisely because I didn't know there was a twist. I personally hate when movies advertise "A TWIST ENDING YOU WON'T SEE COMING!" Kind of ruins it.

By mikerattlesnake (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

You don't know the half of it. I'm also still in my robe and I haven't showered today because I'm a jobless bum.

That, too, would explain a lot.

No, I'm assuming that if I post my opinion, people will respond, and then a discussion can be had. Stating an opinion is not the same as stating that your opinion is correct or that your opinion matters. I enjoy discussion far more than I enjoy talking about how right I always am.

It's cute that you think you are engaged in a discussion and not pathetic whining.

As I've already said, I have read and quite enjoyed his more science-oriented posts. I didn't say he didn't post about science, just that I think it would be way cool if he posted about science more.

Your faux concern was dumped in the trash like any other trolls mewlings. You see, responsible adults don't whine and complain like you are doing. They either change the channel, or they quit whining. Only childish trolls keep whining. So, are you an adult or a child?

By Nerd of Redhead, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Keep up the scolding of the tone troll, everyone. FWIW, tone trolls tend to know that accommodationism is a stupid and ineffectual waste of time, but they keep hoping that their efforts will pay off. I think that PZ's work at calling out accommodationists is really useful at discouraging this sort of time-suck.

PZ admits that he is does not go out of his way all the time to aggravate theists, even when he thinks that what they're doing is a waste of time. The important thing is to know when to deal with science and education and when to call religious groups on total bullshit, like the Mother Theresa scam or the "teach the controversy" crap.

I would love to hear Paul Farmer's honest opinion about Mother Theresa. He's Catholic but seems to think that the right thing to do about human suffering and poverty is to do everything in one's power to end it. Mother Theresa didn't, end of story.

Perhaps protoposthuman should consider looking at the top of scienceblogs, under life science, environment, brain & behavior, and medicine. Might be some good blogs there.

Sincerely,

a middle-aged-tone-troll-in-recovery

so complaining that the owners are not setting up the lights the way he wants makes about as much sense as complaining that your neightbour across the street is not doing it either.

An what on Earth makes you think that O'Donohue's neighbours are spared his innanity?

By Sili, The Unkn… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Is anyone really surprised about Donohue anymore? He's a publicity whore: that's his career. He could have issued a press release simply thanking the postmaster general for issuing the stamp, but that wouldn't have got much traction. Controversy sells.

Incidentally, when he rants about "the elites who run the Empire State Building", that wouldn't happen to be code for Jews, would it?

So you criticize the quality (or existence) or medical care in her hospitals. What would be better - to let them die in a gutter, or at least on a cot with people around to comfort them?

Are you a poe? The woman had millions of dollars to spend on making REAL hospitals in parts of the world that DESPERATELY needed them. She decided instead that the poor should die while people read them last rights. Souls were more important then lives. That is fucked up.
By Rutee, Shrieki… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

You folks don't get it--pitching a public tantrum is Donahue's job. This is something he's obliged to do on a regular basis, whether Catholics are under any particular attack or not.

If he doesn't, the deep-pocketed Catholic wingnuts on whom he depends for contributions will think they aren't getting their money's worth and the money will dry up. And then he'd have to get a real job.

Inasmuch as virtually all of the RCC's real wounds these days are massively self-inflicted (making them difficult for Donahue to defend, or attack), he's forced to make due with complaining about truly idiotic and/or imagined insults to the Church. Such as the lighting on the ESB.

By Molly, NYC (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

My error--Moggie (@ 117) clearly gets it.

By Molly, NYC (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Hitchen's book is good, but this is even better: http://www.meteorbooks.com/index.html

Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict, by Aroup Chatterjee, a physician of Indian origins. It's well researched, well documented, and quite a bit longer than Hitchen's book. It's less polemic, but all the more damning for it. You can read the first several chapters on-line.

And to answer the question at #5, her promotion of the virtues of poverty and suffering (other people's, that is) is clearly documented in it.

sbreedlo @ 13:
You have the density of a substance just shy of neutronium. If I walk past a drowning man, go to the hardware store and beg for a coil of rope to save the drowning man, and then go back to the lake and tell the drowning man how much I have compassion for his plight while using the rope to hang my hammock, I'm doing exactly what 'Mother' Theresa did. If a secular charity begged money to help the poor and then built hotels for their friends and helpers, you'd be up in arms over it.
And Bill Donahue (may the Morrigan rip his eyes out)
wants a special treatment equivalent to a national holiday for this woman.

Rev BDC @38 :
Give her a kwok in the head for me.

He was forced to pussyfoot a little and say he was not advocating criminalization of abortion.

Right. He was "merely urging Canada to offer some form of protection for the unborn." Because they aren't the same thing at all....

Waaay OT-

I personally hate when movies advertise "A TWIST ENDING YOU WON'T SEE COMING!" Kind of ruins it.

Sixth Sense did the same thing. I figured it out right away and whispered to the spousal unit, "he's dead." After the next scene, she turned to me and said "god dammit! Thanks for ruining it."

Sixth Sense did the same thing. I figured it out right away and whispered to the spousal unit, "he's dead." After the next scene, she turned to me and said "god dammit! Thanks for ruining it."

My father did the same thing to me with Usual Suspects.

Oooh. A concern troll hijacking a thread. I'm sure I've never seen that before.
PZ should *just* talk about what the trolls ask, because that will make his blog better...that is, for his own sake. Now who can ever doubt a troll has PZ's best interest at heart?
Do they ever realize how ridiculous they look while they are trying to be assholes?

By Insightful Ape (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

@screedlow:

I am astonished by the delusion here.

project much?

Is there any estimate of how many people would have survived MT's care if they had been given proper treatment?
Do they have a fool-proof triage system that separates the dying from the non-dying? Or are they all lumped together and then ignored until they die?

By https://me.yah… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

I enjoy discussion far more than I enjoy talking about how right I always am.

well, I'm sure just about any discussion about any topic would be better than the silence that would obtain from your latter topic.

Protoposthuman:

If you only want to read about biology there is plenty of material here to choose from:

Cephalopods (485)
Development (217)
Evolution (436)
Fossils (106)
Genetics (89)
Molecular Biology (138)
Neurobiology (75)

By Feynmaniac, Ch… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

For those who find Christopher Hitchens's bio of MT, The Missionary Position, too hard to, ah, find, please consider his documentary on Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, Hell's Angel.

By Pierce R. Butler (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Dear Atheists and Protestants,

I write in defence of the blessed Mother Theresa and hereby record my objection to the gross and vile slanders directed at the Savior of the Slums.

To you, the Blessed Mother may have looked like a wizened prune-face wearing a badly tailored chador, but she was something much more important... she was THE LAST SURVIVING JAWA!

There! I bet all you Star Wars fanboys and fan girls have just have experienced a moment of divine illumination and feel appropriately guilty, and rather silly, for your vile slanders.

For all you Lucassphobes, let me tell you of the Jawas, who were scummy wee creatures easily identifiable by their brown hooded robes, glowing yellow eyes, small stature and high pitched, quickly spoken language.

Wookiepedia notes that:
"Through the study of corpses and skeletal remains, Baobab xenobiologists discovered that Jawas appeared to be gaunt, rodent-like creatures, with shrunken faces and yellow eyes."

Does this not sound like the Blessed Mother Theresa to you?

Want more proof? I quote again:
"Jawas were renowned for their incredibly potent and strong smell, which most species generally found close to unbearable.... Their odor was compounded by a mysterious solution Jawas dipped their clothes in to retain moisture, and their view of bathing as being a waste of precious water, which attracted swarms of insects to gather in the recesses of their hoods."

To you unbelievers, the Blessed Mother Theresa may have been just another stinky, insect-ridden midget scavenging from the destitute and the dying, but she was simply being obedient to the dictates of the Jawa genome.

So I, the infallible Smoggy Batzrubble, swear upon the Holy Bible (which for most of MT's life she doubted but employed as superior lavatory paper) that the Blessed Vaginal Virgin Mother Theresa was the last of the Jawas, and with her sad passing one more species of amoral scavenger has departed this universe forever.

[sob]

Amen
Smoggy Batzrubble

(ex-missionary to the atheists and inveterate penis manipulator)

By Smoggy Batzrub… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

What a whiny little bitch. Bill Donohue only has to negotiate with the folks running the Empire State building and pay them an appropriate amount of cash and he can light it up however the hell he wants. It sounds like he's charging in there giving them orders to do all that at their expense - or maybe he thought it could be done for a dime?

By MadScientist (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Incidentally, when he rants about "the elites who run the Empire State Building", that wouldn't happen to be code for Jews, would it?

Is the Pope Bill Donohue Catholic?

By Brownian, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Protoposthuman: some advice, this blog is no place for dissenting comment. PZ has his little kingdom here, and might ban you (probably citing insipidity.) Yeh I know, his dungeon page says even disagreeing with your host isn't reason for being banned but he still does it.

Another piece of advice: don't bother reading past comment #100. Most times buy that number it has degenerated to the nonsensical. (Not always.)

Re: Mother Teresa stamp: I think if we can put MLK Jr on one and even give him a holiday, we can put a major international charity figure on one too.

mikerattlesnake @ 112: The movie poster was a confusion. It had a soapy bar of soap as the central theme, that's probably where the "about soap" bit comes from.

By sandiseattle (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Mother Teresa stamp: I think if we can put MLK Jr on one and even give him a holiday, we can put a major international charity figure on one too.

Sure if you ignore the fact that she's directly responsible for untold numbers of people suffering along side and because of her fraud.

By Rev. BigDumbChimp (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Protoposthuman: some advice, this blog is no place for dissenting comment. PZ has his little kingdom here, and might ban you (probably citing insipidity.) Yeh I know, his dungeon page says even disagreeing with your host isn't reason for being banned but he still does it.

Ooh, I'd love to see examples of this, sandiseattle. Should be a simple matter for you to go to the dungeon and tell us which posters were banned for simple disagreement.

By Brownian, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Let me see...is sandiseattle among the neo-confederates objecting to the MLK holiday?

By Insightful Ape (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

sandi:

Yeh I know, his dungeon page says even disagreeing with your host isn't reason for being banned but he still does it.

This would be your highly vaunted three figure IQ at work, would it? You're wrong, you know you're wrong, yet you persist. Fine, Sandi - go forth to the dungeon rolls and find one single person who was banned for disagreeing. Go ahead, we await evidence.

*Has it occurred to you that you're still posting here, even though you almost always disagree with PZ and everyone else and your "comments" are generally insipid, error-filled vapourware? Idiot.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

some advice

...from the peanut gallery

sandiseattle @ 138 said "don't bother reading past comment #100. Most times buy [sic] that number it has degenerated to the nonsensical." Heh... I think someone has been overdosing on their stoopid pills again!

That said, I'm not averse to putting a major international charity figure on a stamp either, and so I'd like to nominate Lisa Sparxxx for generously giving and giving and giving again.

The difference between Lisa and Theresa is that Lisa screwed umpteen people for free, while Theresa used umpteen poor people to screw millions from the rich. So which one is the fame whore?

By Smoggy Batzrub… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Protoposthuman: some advice, this blog is no place for dissenting comment. PZ has his little kingdom here, and might ban you (probably citing insipidity.) Yeh I know, his dungeon page says even disagreeing with your host isn't reason for being banned but he still does it.

Actually, if one is smart (which leaves Proto out), one uses the proper forum Sandi. And we call PZ out all the time. The proper forum for Proto is the eternal thread. It is open and he can discuss any topic, if he can get people to respond to him. He attempted to hijacked this thread with his trolling. Constant threadjacking like liberturds do can get you banned if PZ tires of it.

By Nerd of Redhead, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Poe's Law = Donahue? Whether Donahue is sincere or not, the Catholic League is crazy to keep him as a spokesperson.

By Doubting T (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

This would be your highly vaunted three figure IQ at work, would it?

Sandiseattle has a three-figure IQ? Lemme guess: the first figure is a zero.

By Brownian, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

@ DoubtingT: Crazy? Not when he manufactures so much publicity for them. If one goes by the "there is no such thing as bad publicity" mantra, it's perfectly rational.

By irenedelse (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

This is why you're a great blogger, posts like this make my day

By Joey Mack (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Dear Sister Irenedelse,

Following your argument, would that mean that the Catholic Church allowed all the child abuse because "there's no such thing as bad publicity"?

One shudders... But I guess it might have got a whole lot more pedophiles interested in joining the One True Church.

By Smoggy Batzrub… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Sandiseattle must mean idiocy quotient. Just for the record, sometimes threads don't even get interesting until after the 100th comment. And he got majorly called out on the batsex thread, but I haven't noticed anyone, including SC OM, getting dungeoned.

You do know what the word "propaganda" means, right? Mother Theresa was a world champion.

#144

Let us compare:

Ms. Sparxxx- Brought joy to several hundred men (In one day!), brought joy to millions more through her films, never killed anyone (that we know of)

Mama Terrier- Actively sought to remove the happiness of others, acted in a way that caused the deaths of roughly 3.782 metric fucktons of people, giant fucking hypocrite

Yeah, my vote goes to the first option.

@#141: No objection to MLK day. But he was a preacher remember.

By sandiseattle (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Yeah, my vote goes to the first option.

sadly, even though I'm sure many congressionals might privately agree, I doubt they would be rushing to introduce a bill for a stamp for Ms. Sparxxx.

so who to blame for that?

the congressionals for being spineless hypocrites?

their constituency for being irrational prudes?

both?

I'll take both.

I've often considered how one might go about fixing this problem.

I have several of what would be probably considered rather unpopular ideas, the main one being:

mandatory civil service requirement:

-2 years mandatory civil service upon graduating high school, or 18th birthday, whatever best applies.

why?

because *maybe*, just maybe, if enough people get involved in seeing what's involved in serving the people through government (or related civil service), some intelligent folk might actually decide to make a career of it, and we wouldn't always get stuck with the lowest common denominator, like the extreme religiophiles or those with personal profit motives, being the only ones maintaining an interest.

*shrug*

doubt it will ever happen in the States, but it seems to have worked for some other countries, to varying degrees (even if you limit it to mandatory military service like many countries in Europe - you could get militaries with better human rights records, for example).

OTOH, maybe it would spell utter disaster, with so many unqualified individuals involved in gov't at the same time...

Or is that the way it is already?

I'd be willing to try the experiment.

But he was a preacher remember.

Is MLK day celebrated BECAUSE he was a preacher?

think carefully, as difficult as I know that is for you.

sandiseattle:

No objection to MLK day. But he was a preacher remember.

Maybe so, but what he's remembered (and lauded) for is his civil rights activism.

By John Morales (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Ack! Sorry, Ichthyic.

By John Morales (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Poe's Law = Donahue? Whether Donahue is sincere or not, the Catholic League is crazy to keep him as a spokesperson.

Donohue is the Catholic League. It is a small operation, just him and some flunkies-support staff. Even a lot of Catholics don't think much of it or him. Mostly he just puts out press releases that whine about one thing or another and endless appeals for wait for it,....surprise!!! MONEY.

Now OTOH, my organization, The True Universal Galactic Catholic League is much larger. It has Galactic and Universal in the name. The head is of course, a Subpope and there are usually a few cats wandering around. Your contributions will be tax deductible under IRS 501(c).

#153

MLK was a good person in spite of that unfortunate handicap, not because of it. If you'd ever read the Bible, you would know that.

Ack! Sorry, Ichthyic.

lol.

no worries.

Re: Mother Teresa stamp: I think if we can put MLK Jr on one and even give him a holiday, we can put a major international charity figure on one too.

She's only considered an international charity figure because she's been backed by a remarkable PR campaign and hardly anyone has actually looked at what she did. Which, by the way, included wallowing in the misery and pain of others so she could "feel Jesus" or whatever and bilking money from people who had already stolen it from someone else. She's an overrated figure, to say the least.

Brownian, OM:

Sandiseattle has a three-figure IQ? Lemme guess: the first figure is a zero.

Mattir:

Sandiseattle must mean idiocy quotient.

A while back in a thread, Sandi showed up and was crying about us arrogant atheists using xtian as an insult. I corrected that, explaining it was a well known abbreviation, nothing more. Somewhere in there, I called Sandi the village idiot. Sandi took exception to that and bragged about having a three digit IQ. Seemed to think that was all kinds of impressive.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

"Pharyngula" is an "obscure" reference from developmental biology?

Err... if by "obscure" you mean, one of its most basic and well-known phenomena.

Die troll.

By naddyfive (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Wow, that Donohue guy needs Ativan 2mg- Haldol 5mg- Cogentin 1mg IM to calm him down...He is a raging idiot!

By Zoot Capri (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

"mother" Teresa was the embodiment of hypocrisy.

From her Wikipedia article:

In April 1996, Mother Teresa fell and broke her collar bone. In August she suffered from malaria and failure of the left heart ventricle. She had heart surgery but it was clear that her health was declining. When she fell ill, she made the controversial decision to be treated at a well-equipped hospital in California instead of one of her own clinics.

By John Morales (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

I wonder how sandi would react if i called her a

χριστός-ian

You are lying sandi. If you are not objecting to the MLK day then what is the deal with "if MLK got one then mother theresa should get hers?" Incidentally since MLK's being a preacher is important, his view on the role of religion in segregation should also matter to you: "the most segregated hour is 11AM Sunday".
Incidentally if international charity figures get stamps (regardless of their terrible characters) then shouldn't Fidel Castro get one? The communist regime of Cuba has done a lot more charity work all over the world than mother theresa. (And they are both propagandists to boot).

By Insightful Ape (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

By the way, who decided that mother theresa was going to get a stamp? Who the hell is she to the USA? It seems that any old cretin can get their own stamp now...

By Zoot Capri (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Ichthyic:

so of course, I'm in sandi's good graces now.

Oh yes, of course you are. Sandi being such an intellectual and all, I'm sure reason will win out.

*digits crossed behind back*

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

#165

I kind of dislike them both, actually. See, it sort of implies that they're "Taking the 'Christ' out of Christian". Which just isn't true: Jesus was barely any less of a dick than Old Testament Yahweh, and by treating everyone else like shit and being violent assholes they're pretty much following Jesus' example. Sure, the guy said "Hey don't be dicks" a few times, but that doesn't change all the vile, murderous crap he spouted, or the fact* that he's apparently going to burn almost everyone forever for pretty much no reason at all.

I generally go with Christain, as they are stains on society. For Christ.

*For lack of a better term. Honestly, there don't seem to be any facts in the Jebus story at all.

The Daily Show's "coverage" of Dan Barker's objection to the stamp about a month ago was reprehensible from a show that brought you gems like "This Week in God". They went after the wrong side on that one.

By V. infernalis (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

Guh, not sure if that last post was clear. I've seen the "xtian" used as "Well they're not acting like Christ, so we shouldn't put his name in there." And I'm pretty goddamn of sick of the "Jesus was a nice guy" myth.

Ichthyic @ 167: "She" wouldn't say anything. He however would ask is

χριστός-ian

correct usage?

:-)

By sandiseattle (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

sandiseattle, you still haven't provided a list of those in PZ's dungeon who are there for simply disagreeing with him.

Are you admitting you lied?

By WowbaggerOM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

sandiseattle,

ADMIT NOTHING!

(That is the first rule of lying)

By Smoggy Batzrub… (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

The fact that almost (and i'm being nice there) every comment that trumpets forth from this mans mouth is absolute nonsensical tripe, should come as a surprise to no one. For it to be otherwise, he would have to think about the things he speaks of in a logical, and reasonable, context. As far as Catholicism is concerned, that's like the 'mother' of all sins!

By R.J.Pourau (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

"She" wouldn't say anything.

don't care.

is
χριστός-ian
correct usage?

irrelevant.

Hey sandi the liar, will you ever own up to what you said already?
So if "mother theresa" gets a stamp, why not Fidel Castro?

By Insightful Ape (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

We got two trolls for the price of one. First we got protowhiner and then sandilooneytarian. If only one more troll then we'd have the trifecta.

By 'Tis Himself, OM (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

'Tis Himself, well, this does involve catholics, so I expect a certain pilt will be by at some point.

By Caine, Fleur du mal (not verified) on 18 May 2010 #permalink

@Tis

We got two trolls for the price of one. First we got protowhiner and then sandilooneytarian. If only one more troll then we'd have the trifecta.

Where's Mabus when you need (if need is the right word here) him.

i'm not really up on which religion thinks what but someplace i read that the local Buddhists?Hindu? thought she was condemning the people she "helped" to more rounds of rebirth because the death they should of had without her was part of the "payback" for their actions in a former life.

I'm probably about to become a window clerk--I promise, I will refuse to keep them at my terminal. Anybody who wants one of the vile things will just have to fucking wait a while for me to scrounge it up.

I think the most damning fact is that a lot of the Catholic commenters on Billy Boy's original articles are saying "So? Let's concentrate on more important things."

What a whiner.

Comment #138:

Another piece of advice: don't bother reading past comment #100. Most times buy that number it has degenerated to the nonsensical. (Not always.)

Err... if by "obscure" you mean, one of its most basic and well-known phenomena.

To insiders, yes. I still have little fucking clue what a pharynx is.

By Sili, The Unkn… (not verified) on 19 May 2010 #permalink

psssst... nobody tell Sandi that IQ is not a 0-100 scale. See also: the SAT's; she's gonna be REALLY disappointed with her scores if she finds out.

By mikerattlesnake (not verified) on 19 May 2010 #permalink

Pharynx is your throat.

By Zoot Capri (not verified) on 19 May 2010 #permalink

A clarification about Mother Teresa and her money: she never used it for *anything* that she didn't absolutely have to, to the point of vetoing the addition of an elevator to a New York shelter run by her order, with her nuns claiming that they could just carry anyone who couldn't get in there themselves. Hell, an Italian convent was forbidden from canning tomatoes that had been donated to them -- I don't know if it's been changed since her death, but her nuns were held to a strict hand-to-mouth lifestyle, with even saving being considered failing to have faith in divine providence. Meanwhile, the hand-over-fist donations that she solicited at every opportunity essentially piled up unused in the bank.

One gets the sense that she had based her entire ministry on Luke 12 but somehow got the entire thing inside out...

oh also, never took the SATs

another chalkmark for homeschooling, xian style?

righto, I'll add you to the database.