The 1980s Satanic Panic

Last week I was a guest on Karl Mamer's popular podcast The Conspiracy Skeptic, speaking on the 1980s Satanic Panic. Karl has been recording CS since October 2007 and has cast a skeptical eye on many of the most well-known conspiracies. We need more rationalist like him.

The 80s Satanic Panic, or the Satanic Cult Phenomenon, is a perfect example of a "moral panic," similar to the Salem Witch Trials & McCarthyism. For more information, read Satan's Silence and watch the documentary Witch Hunt.

Download the podcast here or listen on iTunes.

Ireland Home to Extraordinary Abuse by Catholic Church

What's amazing about this story is the extraordinary scope of abuse against children the Catholic Church has been directly responsible for.

Tens of thousands of Irish children were regularly sexually and physically abused by nuns, priests and others over a period of decades in hundreds of residential institutions that housed the poor, the vulnerable and the unwanted, according to a report released in Dublin on Wednesday.

“A climate of fear, created by pervasive, excessive and arbitrary punishment, permeated most of the institutions and all those run for boys,” the report said, adding that sexual abuse was “endemic” in boys’ institutions.

The 2600 page report accuses over 800 priest & nuns (anonymously) of abuse between the 1930s and 1990s. The report was delayed because the "Christian" Brothers, the order many of the accused belonged to, successful sued to keep the priest and nuns (to clarify: who raped and terrorized kids) names private.

The church has paid out more money to cover-up child abuse than Michael Jackson.

In 2002, the Catholic Church in Ireland agreed to pay $175 million to compensate victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. A separate group has paid out some $1.5 billion so far to more than 10,000 people who have claimed they were abused in state and church-run institutions.

Wikipedia lists other bribes payed by the church:

January 15, 2007 Diocese of Charleston Bishop Robert J. Baker agreed to pay $12 million to settle numerous cases concerning abuse by priests.

In December 2006 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (its archbishop was Roger Cardinal Mahony) agreed to a payout of $60 million to settle 45 of the over 500 pending cases concerning abuse by priests.[75] In July 2007 the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay a $660 million settlement to hundreds of people who claimed to have been abused by clergy.

In September 2003 the Archdiocese of Boston agreed to pay out $85 million to 552 victims.

In 1997 the Diocese of Dallas negotiated a $31 million settlement with victims.

In June 2003 the Archdiocese of Louisville made a $25.7 million settlement involving 240 victims of sexual abuse.

On January 3, 2005 Bishop Tod Brown of the Diocese of Orange apologized to 87 alleged victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation.

In December 2006 the Diocese of Phoenix agreed to pay $100,000 to William Cesolini, who claimed he was sexually assaulted as a teenager by a priest.

In Canada the Christian Brothers have paid out approximately $35 million (Canadian) in compensation.

In May 1994 the Diocese of Lincoln (Nebraska) agreed to pay Rob Butler, FKA Adam Butler, $40,000 after he claimed he was abused weekly for two years.

National Day To Ask God For Favors

Today is The National Day of Prayer, a day that celebrates the power of asking god to do favors for you and your friends and family.

In reality, prayer doesn't do anything.

Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and long-awaited study has found.

And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the prayers created, the researchers suggested.

In the study, the researchers monitored 1,802 patients at six hospitals who received coronary bypass surgery, in which doctors reroute circulation around a clogged vein or artery.

The patients were broken into three groups. Two were prayed for; the third was not. Half the patients who received the prayers were told that they were being prayed for; half were told that they might or might not receive prayers.

Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations, the researchers found no differences between those patients who were prayed for and those who were not.

In another of the study's findings, a significantly higher number of the patients who knew that they were being prayed for — 59 percent — suffered complications, compared with 51 percent of those who were uncertain.

The study also found that more patients in the uninformed prayer group — 18 percent — suffered major complications, like heart attack or stroke, compared with 13 percent in the group that did not receive prayers.

At least one earlier study found lower complication rates in patients who received intercessory prayers; others found no difference. A 1997 study at the University of New Mexico, involving 40 alcoholics in rehabilitation, found that the men and women who knew they were being prayed for actually fared worse.

The most amusing finding is that people who were prayed for tended to do worse than people not prayed for at all.

Read the whole article at the The New York Times.

Clinton Doubts God Paints Pictures On Earth

I feel sorry for U.S. Politicians who walk the delicate balancing act of being committed to reason and pragmatism, while also believing that paranormal forces govern Earth from a Celestial Kingdom. Lord knows, I could never do it.

Hillary Clinton got herself in some trouble last Thursday when she was in Mexico, while visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Catholics believe: "The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the tilma, or cloak, of St. Juan Diego in 1531."

Clinton asked Msgr. Diego Monroy, the rector of the Basilica, "Who painted it?" He replied "God!" I wish I could have been there to see the look on her face!

Important Things with Demetri Martin

Demetri Martin's new show Important Things with Demetri Martin is really funny. I always thought he was good on The Daily Show, but he's really come into his own with this series.

The below video is of this amazingly funny sketch titled Creedocide, which I laughed very hard at.

Important Things with Demetri MartinWed 10:30pm / 9:30c

Power - Creedocide

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

Get Funny Ringtones
More Funny Videos

I look forward to many more laughs. New episodes air on Comedy Central on Wednesdays at 10:30EST.

(Please note the Comedy Central website is extremely clunky and this video may take forever and ever to load, but it's worth it.)