Archive of entries posted on 27th November 2020

Please Believe This: Twitter is SO-o-o So Concerned About Bias

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Firestorm on Twitter in Spain After Trending Topic Calls for Burning Priests
Crux | 11/25/20 | Ines San Martin

ROSARIO, Argentina – Despite restrictions on hate speech on social media in Spain, a trending hashtag calling for Catholic priests to be burned alive was not removed for violating rules against posting calls for violence.

The invitation to #FuegoAlClero, or set fire to the clergy, was first issued by several pro-Marxist accounts, originally in defense of a bill to reform Spain’s education system that would put the state in control of religious instruction in public schools and limit support for thousands of Catholic schools, which could lead to their closure.

However, the trending topic was accompanied by calls to burn down churches because “the only church that illuminates is the one that is in flames,” signed by “the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.”

By Tuesday evening, Twitter had done nothing about the tweets, despite thousands of users complaining the hashtag was inciting hatred and a direct violation of the company’s rules against “violence, harassment and other similar types of behavior.”

File Under: (1) Wait — What? (2) #IHate2020 (3) And Karens

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Priest Calls Police on Mother of 11 Praying in Empty Church Without a Mask
Neither the priest nor the diocese have explained the arrest despite a stated mask exemption for those seated in their pew.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, November 24, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) —

The pastor of a Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri, had a woman arrested as she prayed with her children in the pews of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church for refusing to wear a mask, despite instructions in the church’s previous Sunday bulletin and the diocesan website stating that masks are required “except when remaining in the pew.”

The mother of 11 children, six of whom are adopted, said in an interview with Restoring the Faith Media that she came to the church with her family to pray Vespers, as she does every year on Halloween.

She had arrived early and was praying private devotions with her husband and children when police arrived and arrested her, at the request of the church pastor, Rev. Gary Ziuraitis, C.Ss.R.

The bulletin issued by Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on October 25 reads, “In accordance with diocesan rules and the current Kansas City ordinance, everyone must wear a mask in church, unless you are seated in your pew.”

The Kansas City police incident report says the pastor told the officers that the mother, whose name she wishes to remain anonymous, was not wearing a mask when she entered the church, and neither were her children.

The mother said that the keyholder of the church yelled at her and her children as they entered for not wearing masks, even though no one was in the church at the time. She continued on to a pew to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet with her children, after which, she reported, the pastor approached them, without wearing a mask himself, and told her that she would have to put on a mask or leave the church.

The police report says, “It is not the Police Department’s position to enforce the mask ordinance in KC, the Health Department does that here. It was [the pastor’s] request that we ask her to leave or arrest her for trespassing.”

The website of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph currently states, “The faithful are obliged to wear a mask upon entering the church and during the celebration of Mass, except when remaining in the pew [emphasis in the original] unless the local city/county health directives so require and for the brief moment of receiving Holy Communion.”

Not only does the bulletin of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church restate this exception for those in a pew, but the church is what the mother described as a “monstrosity of a cathedral the size of a football field.”

It seats up to 800 people, and has the “longest aisle in Kansas City,” according to the church website.

Wait: Are You Trying To Tell Me There Are No Guns Or Good Ol’ Boys Down South?

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Invasive Dog-Sized Lizard Continues To Spread in Southeast; ‘They Eat Just About Anything’
Al.com | 24 Nov 2020 | Leada Gore

Wildlife officials are warning that tegu – a South American lizard that can grow up to the size of a dog – continue to spread across the Southeast.

The Argentine black-and-white tegu is an invasive animal that has spread to Georgia and South Carolina but has also been reported in Alabama.

The lizards, which can grow up to 10 pounds and 4 feet long, are “voracious invaders,” according to National Geographic, and, once established in an area, it’s hard to control the spread.

Once established, tegu will eat just about anything – birds, reptiles, fruits and vegetables. They also like eggs, causing concerns for the future of other species in the areas, including turtles.

Hold my beer . . .

A Friday question

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How was everyone’s Thanksgiving? Mine was spent breaking the stupid Q rules for my state and having a nice meal with various friends. Oh, an lots of alcohol. Lots and lots. So a day of rest today with some light Christmas decorating and package wrapping for me. Tomorrow, breaking some more rules with a round of golf out of state. Gotta make use of a decent day to get on the course before the snow sets in.