The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part III

I recently received an email from reader and occasional commenter captainahags titled “Please take this idiot apart!” The post in question is by Matt Forney, a self-published “entrepreneur” who seems to have taken bragging “pick-up artists” seriously when they said there was money in all those poor, lonely guys on the internet. So last year he started up a blog to test the idea that you can publish any old crap, call it “game”, and make money. He’s already put out a “best of” book.

The post in question is a perfect example of “any old crap”. It’s whiny, contradictory, and backed up by fuck all. But here. Rather that tell you about it, let’s show you what flies in PUA land–with commentary, because it wasn’t the post that sent captainahags to me as much as the fact that Forney doesn’t allow critical comments on his blog.

Friday’s post covered the long-winded, poorly asserted introduction to Forney’s post. Yesterday’s covered the hilarious first of his “reasons”. On to “reason” number 2 today.

2. Insecurity is integral to femininity. Continue reading “The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part III”

The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part III
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Honoring Its Promise to Protect

It’s good to see religious people standing up to demand an end to sexual abuse in their churches. First a prominent Protestant evangelical, now a prominent Catholic.

In a publicly released statement, Jennifer Haselberger asked Archbishop John Nienstedt to allow an independent review of clergy files and “make public the list of clergy who have been determined to have engaged in acts of sexual misconduct, as well as those whom could reasonably be assumed to pose a threat to children and young people.”

She added, “Until this occurs, I do not believe that it can be said that the Archdiocese is honoring its promise to protect.” Haselberger has been at the center of two investigative reports by MPR News about the archdiocese’s handling of allegations against two priests.

Haselberger worked at the Roman Catholic archdiocese from Aug. 18, 2008 to April 30, 2013. She said she resigned in April because of concerns about the handling of clergy sexual abuse, allegations of abuse, and other matters.

Haselberger said she resigned because she concluded that it was, “impossible for me to continue in that position given my personal ethics, religious convictions, and sense of integrity.”

No deity is stepping in to stop this. The church hierarchy isn’t fixing the problem. We need more people like Haselberger.

Honoring Its Promise to Protect

The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part II

I recently received an email from reader and occasional commenter captainahags titled “Please take this idiot apart!” The post in question is by Matt Forney, a self-published “entrepreneur” who seems to have taken bragging “pick-up artists” seriously when they said there was money in all those poor, lonely guys on the internet. So last year he started up a blog to test the idea that you can publish any old crap, call it “game”, and make money. He’s already put out a “best of” book.

The post in question is a perfect example of “any old crap”. It’s whiny, contradictory, and backed up by fuck all. But here. Rather that tell you about it, let’s show you what flies in PUA land–with commentary, because it wasn’t the post that sent captainahags to me as much as the fact that Forney doesn’t allow critical comments on his blog.

Yesterday’s post covered the long-winded, poorly asserted introduction to Forney’s post. Now, on to his “reasons”.

1. Most girls have done nothing to deserve self-esteem. Continue reading “The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part II”

The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part II

Saturday Storytime: Sheesha Ghat

Strange Horizons is two and a half days and about $2,000 from the end of the annual funding drive that allows them to make stories like those I share here free to you. They’re ending their drive by featuring two stories of Indian speculative fiction, as well as a long discussion about the genre. If you don’t know the name Naiyer Masud, it is only because you don’t read in Urdu.

If he ever scolded me, it was over this. But my problem was that I couldn’t begin my account from the middle. Sometimes he would listen to me patiently and at others he would lift his hand and say, “All right, you may stop.”

But if I couldn’t begin my account from the middle, I couldn’t leave it unfinished, either. I would grow agitated. Finally he would walk away, leaving me still stuttering, talking to myself. If anyone had seen me, I’d have been thought insane.

I was also fond of wandering through the bazaars, and enjoyed sitting there among the groups of people. Though I could not utter what I had to say comprehensibly, I made up for this by listening closely to what others said and repeating it in my mind. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable, yet I was happy enough, because the people there didn’t dislike me, and above all my foster father held me dear and looked after my every need.

For the last few days, though, he had seemed worried. He had begun talking to me for long stretches of time, a new development. He would come up with questions to ask me that required a long answer, and then listen attentively without interrupting me. When I’d tire and begin to pant, he would wait for me to finish what I was saying , and when I resumed my account he would listen with the same concentration. I’d think he was about to scold me, and my tongue would start to tie itself in knots, but he would just gaze at me, saying nothing.

After only three days my tongue began to feel as if it were unknotting a bit. It was as if a weight were being lifted from my chest, and I began to dream of the day when I would be able to speak as others did, with ease and clarity. I began collecting in my heart all the things I had wanted to share with others. But on the fourth day, father called me over and had me sit very close to him. For a long time his talk rambled aimlessly, then he fell silent. I waited for him to pose one of his questions, but he suddenly said, “Your new mother is arriving the day after tomorrow.”

Seeing the joy begin to dawn on my face, he grew troubled, then said slowly, “She’ll go crazy if she hears you speak. She’ll die.” The next day my luggage was all packed. Before I could ask any questions, my father took my hand and said, “Let’s go.”

Keep reading.

Saturday Storytime: Sheesha Ghat

"Skeptic's Annotated Bible", Steve Wells on Atheists Talk

The Skeptic’s Annotate Bible (SAB) is a website dedicated to spreading the Good Word…and the bad word, the violent word, the misogynistic word, the unjust word and the contradictory word. These are a few of the categories that the SAB has created to capture the messages that can be found in the King James Version of the bible. The individual books of the bible are able to be easily searched, and the creator (that’s a lowercase “c”) offers handy notes which distill and summarize the key messages of each section.

The goal of the SAB is to encourage believers to examine more closely this book that so many of them claim as the cornerstone of their faith and worldview. As the SAB FAQs state: “I’d like people to look carefully at the Bible and decide if it is worthy of their belief. When, if ever, people stop believing in the Bible, I’ll take my site down.”

This Sunday Steve Wells, the creator of the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible joins Atheists Talk to discuss his research and the website. Since its inception, the SAB has expanded to cover the Quran and the Book of Mormon. Steve Wells is also the author of the nonfiction book Drunk With Blood: God’s killings in the Bible.

Relevant Links:

Listen to AM 950 KTNF this Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

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"Skeptic's Annotated Bible", Steve Wells on Atheists Talk

The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part I

I recently received an email from reader and occasional commenter captainahags titled “Please take this idiot apart!” The post in question is by Matt Forney, a self-published “entrepreneur” who seems to have taken bragging “pick-up artists” seriously when they said there was money in all those poor, lonely guys on the internet. So last year he started up a blog to test the idea that you can publish any old crap, call it “game”, and make money. He’s already put out a “best of” book.

The post in question is a perfect example of “any old crap”. It’s whiny, contradictory, and backed up by fuck all. But here. Rather that tell you about it, let’s show you what flies in PUA land–with commentary, because it wasn’t the post that sent captainahags to me as much as the fact that Forney doesn’t allow critical comments on his blog.

I’m just gonna come out and say it: I love insecure women. Continue reading “The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part I”

The Case Against Female Self-Esteem, Part I

Evangelicals Have Their Own Means of Quashing Abuse Accusations

I’ve mentioned before that part of the reason we pay so much attention to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is that they have good central recordkeeping and central authority. Paper trails are great for pointing fingers. However, that doesn’t mean the Catholic Church has a worse record than, say, Protestant evangelicalism.

In fact, when you’ve got a Liberty University law professor (yes, I know) who also happens to be Billy Graham’s grandson saying that Protestant evangelicalism is worse than the Catholic Church on this score, maybe it’s time to sit up and pay some attention. Continue reading “Evangelicals Have Their Own Means of Quashing Abuse Accusations”

Evangelicals Have Their Own Means of Quashing Abuse Accusations

But There's No Theocracy Here

Why did this go as far as a government shutdown? Why is our country once again the laughing stock of the world? As Senator Warren explains, it’s because some members of our House would prefer a theocracy to the democracy we have.

Yes, it’s about the Affordable Care Act, but the specific issue the House Republicans have been using is a religious one.

But There's No Theocracy Here