219 Comments
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oraxx's avatar

As if the world needed another example of the disconnect between religion and morality. Not one cent of public money should ever go to any religious organization for any reason.

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S. Arch's avatar

"Should" is irrelevant. The fact is the Christian majority has the political power to do whatever they want.

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larry parker's avatar

Holy water doesn't make itself. You need highly skilled and trained workers to say the right magic words.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Holy water doesn’t need to be sanitary though, so don’t expect they’ll focus on that.

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Wookiee Monster's avatar

Studies have found that holy water has about the same E. coli counts as toilet water.

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Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz's avatar

And the same effectiveness.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

With the right cadence and intonation. Magic spells are tricky that way.

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cdbunch's avatar

Klatoo Bardara Nick's Toe.

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JerryBier's avatar

Is that like "talking in tongues"??? Asking for a friend. I don't care. I'm 100% atheist. ;-)

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Maltnothops's avatar

Wingardium Leviosa! Not Wingardium Leviosaaaa.

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Donrox's avatar

I brought home bread that had been consecrated by ME, in a United Methodist Church in San Francisco, and my two Catholic roommates freaked out, It was just Boudin's bread from Safeway.

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Maltnothops's avatar

My father made lousy sweet wine (dandelion wine, elderberry wine, and a few others). One communion Sunday he realized he didn’t have enough of the official wine so he subbed in some of his homemade stuff. He proudly reported that no one could tell the difference. I was a young teen at the time and it was only years later that I understood Dad had nothing to be proud about.

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RegularJoe's avatar

It's really more about wossname....Stoichiometry.....ratios of the various atoms/molecules, in this case hydrogen and oxygen. Remember, it's not measured by weight/mass so much as specific number. For the very best water you need 2 hydrogen atoms for every 1 atom of oxygen. By mass that'd be 4 grams of H₂ to 32 grams of O₂.

See also: Avogadro's number.¹

.

(¹ 6.0221408e+23. Not to be confused with a number of avocados.)

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larry parker's avatar

How many Avogadros do you need to make a quart of Guacamole?

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RegularJoe's avatar

I think that makes Quarkamole…..has to do with quantum or some such.¹

(¹ Perhaps Ronnie Soak has something to do with it.²)

(² Sir Terry would know, but he ain't sayin’.)

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Matri's avatar

How much is that in Affogatos?

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RegularJoe's avatar

Eleventeen.......and a third, I think.

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avis piscivorus's avatar

Don't forget about 2·10⁻⁷ H₃O⁺ and OH⁻ ions.

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cdbunch's avatar

Don't forget, introduce the fecal matter.

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painedumonde's avatar

They better be Union too!

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Jane in NC's avatar

Follow the money. Somebody's getting a pretty hefty kickback.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

Diverting secular taxpayer funds to tighten the anti-choice noose around women's necks. I'd scream bloody murder but what's the use anymore.

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Old Man Shadow's avatar

Why does the omnipotent god who made the heavens and the Earth need five million dollars from taxpayers?

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Joe King's avatar

Same reason he needs a starship.

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Bensnewlogin's avatar

Gosh darn you to heck. You stole my line.

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Len Koz's avatar

Starship fuel costs are through the roof.

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Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz's avatar

Because Biden/Soros shut down asteroid drilling, but Trump's Space Force will produce record quantities through the use of forced immigrant labor.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

Knew those Jewish Space Lasers would come in handy. Drill, baby, drill.

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John Roberts's avatar

George Carlin was right!

He is missed.

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Stephen Beck Marcotte's avatar

Still no matter what you half to worth with that. My name is Stephen, when I played in parish sponsored hockey teams as a youth they gave me the number 12. What for? You say. Because stories and myths are the basis for the collective strength of society. I mean just listen to St Stephen by the Grateful Dead. I literally did that shit in the garden, I ask what for all the fucking time, sometime I say it so loud it’s literally on the evening sky. Nobody smart will touch me. If they do touch me they will just fall on bananas. Why? Because I used what I learned to pierce myths. They are fucking everywhere. The church is about community and structure and kids. The stories are metaphors mostly meant to bind it all together but hindsight is required to understand it.

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larry parker's avatar

Getting lazy in his dotage?

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Joe King's avatar

State Senator Garcia doesn't appear to be angry for the right reason. He seems to be angry that the grant is going to a college in Ohio, not that it is going to an organization that will use it for explicitly partisan and religious purposes.

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RegularJoe's avatar

He may well be upset for the right reasons but is politically savvy enough to understand which messaging approach might have better traction with the constituency there.

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Joe King's avatar

You have a good point. But then again, Democrats in WV seem to be more right leaning than the rest of the country. (See Manchin, Joe)

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Wookiee Monster's avatar

He mentions the "conservative think tank" in his tweet, so I think he's mad for both reasons.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

We are entering that phase of fascism where the corruption is so obvious and yet untouchable. Well, the turd’s first term was the official entry into that phase, it has just spread to state governments now.

There needs to be a media blitz on these corrupt schemes, the blatant theft of taxpayer money should get the attention of some of the apathetic people. We are appalled at the million dollars openly and illegally gifted to the anti-abortion cause, but the average West Virginian might not be as passionate about women’s human rights as the FA commentariat. That said, their lack of clean water being exacerbated when it’s supposed to be relieved might get their attention. We need to message more about how they’re being directly harmed, it’s their money, it’s supposed to clean their water, and they are not getting basic services they are paying for — through taxes and directly paying for the services. The courts need to know that the “think tank” (unthinking tank) is an unconstitutional use of this funding, and the process in which the grant was given, but the people of West Virginia won’t care as much about that as they do care about losing out on the clean water they were promised.

Don’t wait too long ACLU and the WV Democratic Party. Collect evidence, but act swiftly. This is too clearly a violation to just monitor. This needs decisive action.

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Robot Bender's avatar

Actually, I thought all this would happen during his first regime.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

Probably would have if he and the GQP had been prepared for his win.

They've now had years to plan for this.

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Stephen Beck Marcotte's avatar

Open lies (myths) are fractures wanting to be filled in.

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Marianne Cromarty's avatar

Again we see just how easily religious people will lie. They have no integrity and no problem being criminals when they think they can get away with anything they want!

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Donrox's avatar

Take it from a reformed professional religious huckster. Christianity is a lie!

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Jennifer's avatar

I agree! I keep wondering how we can ever get back to a more normal political system when there are no people with any integrity or ethics left on the right. I don't see how society continues with this level of dishonesty. It's sad.

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S. Arch's avatar

We can't. The U.S. is finished as a republic. Christian nationalist oligarchs and ultra-wealthy plutocrats will rule the country from now on.

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John Roberts's avatar

Agreed, the MAGA cult is here. It won't be satisfied until all the Americas and the 36 American countries become on nation under MAGA. Reminiscent of 1930 and 40's Germany.

Starting with the Gulf of Mexico.

God Bless MAGA?

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Robot Bender's avatar

I don't necessarily think it's a religious scammer, just a plain, old scammer. Somebody figured out the right combination of legal words to rip off the taxpayers. I know a storefront "church" scam when I see one. Welcome to Justice's WV, just like Manchin's WV. (We used to live there.)

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prbev's avatar

Maybe they're using the same reasoning Pence used for standing by Trump: Sometimes god uses bad people to enable good people to succeed. Here, maybe they think their lying is okay because it enables them to succeed in spreading religion/the word of god.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Another Christian sect that refuses to pray for their needs like their savior tells them. Once again, they leach $$$ off of taxpayers to fuel their misogyny.

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Joe King's avatar

"How that helps West Virginia with water issues is anyone’s guess."

They will encourage any student from West Virginia to drink more water?

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Whitney's avatar

When the RCC gets the biggest chunk of a government hand out, everyone loses. If anything the RCC is a black hole when it comes to money; the money goes in, but nobody ever sees it again and nothing is gained for it.

The worst part of this is that we all very well know that when the RCC doesn't get their money, they'll sue over it even if they have no case at all. This money was intended for a specific purpose that the RCC won't use it for, yet the RCC still wants the government to give it to them. The selfishness the church so often displays is staggering, but it's so common from them nobody bats an eye.

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Jelly's avatar

I’d ask Joe Manchin to get to the bottom of this, but since he built a career in throwing West Virginians under the bus it would be fruitless.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

Manchin is a waste of space, pretty much a Democrat In Name Only. Just as well he's gone from American politics.

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Bagat's avatar

Nobody burned his garbage scow of a home?

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Robot Bender's avatar

It was widely known in WV that he was a GOP plant. It was talked about freely when we lived there.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

I take it this is not considered election fraud?

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P Kawake's avatar

Lying for the Lard. Episode 123456789, take 3.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

How? My guess would be: an utter lack of oversight, combined with indifference from both Ohio and West Virginia's representatives and legislatures. You might throw in the idea that the monies were swapped around by parties who knew or at least suspected that no one would care about a measly five megabucks. That the news is coming out now, with Donald Trump getting ready to return to the Oval Office, from whence he is liable to either encourage or overlook such activity may not matter at all.

Still, a guy could be tempted to pick up the phone, dial a number. "Hello, CBS News 60 Minutes? Yeah, I got a good one for you..."

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Bagat's avatar

An outfit worth trillions gotta grift again.

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AlbertCamus's avatar

Remember when the Silent/Moral Majority was neither silent, moral or the majority. This is 50 year old cancer. The "National motto" was even further back.

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Mary Maguire's avatar

"In 2001, President George W. Bush created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives primarily to support social initiatives run by faith-based and community organizations and to help them benefit from federal funding opportunities. Historically these organizations had been limited in their ability to receive federal support because of regulations and laws that prohibit U.S. governmental support of religious institutions. The president believes that these organizations often are involved with critical social activities that benefit the poor, and that they require the support of the federal government. As a result, he established the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives by Executive Order 13199."

"FATHER CORONA: Oh! By the way, Domini Domini Domini, you're all Catholics now! God bless you!" Compassionate conservatism... give us your gold

et hic sumus...

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cdbunch's avatar

If they're being funded by the Federal Government, WTH doesn't the government cut out the middleman and perform these critical social activities that benefit the poor itself?

(Because forcing religion on the poor is the point)

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