PHILADELPHIA — Msgr. William J. Lynn, a senior official in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia convicted last month of endangering children, must stay in jail until his sentencing, a judge determined on Thursday.

Judge M. Teresa Sarmina denied Monsignor Lynn’s request for house arrest, saying that he should not be given special treatment and essentially agreeing with prosecutors who said that others convicted of a similar felony would not be allowed to remain at home pending a sentencing hearing.

Monsignor Lynn, 61, is the first high-ranking official in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States to be convicted of covering up sexual abuse by priests under his supervision. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Read more . . .

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CATHOLIC CHURCH & CHILD RAPE: U.S. Catholic Priest Found Guilty in Child Abuse Case (alwaysquestionauthority.com)
Lynn stays in jail but gets sentencing hearing advanced (philly.com)
Convicted Catholic Monsignor A Flight Risk, Remains Behind Bars (lezgetreal.com)

1978

Posted on 07.01.2012 by AlwaysQuestionAuthority

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the Maples want more sunlight
And the Oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples
And they’re quite convinced they’re right
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream ‘Oppression!’
And the oaks, just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
‘The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light’
Now there’s no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw

POLITICAL SATIRE: “Less Is More”

Posted on 06.29.2012 by AlwaysQuestionAuthority

h/t: truthdig.org

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.
~ John F. Kennedy

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: The $71 Billion Break: Why Reforming Religious Subsidies Will Benefit Us All

Posted on 06.26.2012 by AlwaysQuestionAuthority

Now more than ever, the United States needs to change its laws surrounding religious subsidies. Last year, the state of Florida cut over $1.3 billion from the budget meant for public schools as well as $1.1 billion for police and firefighter pensions. If Florida had collected property taxes on religious institutions, the revenue would have been $2.2 Billion, almost enough to cover both of these budgetary expenses. In fact, the debate over religious tax exemptions has recently been distilled down to one number: 71 billion dollars. That’s the total amount that the government forgoes every year in religious subsidies, and clearly, there are places that this money could be put to use.

Continue reading . . .

h/t: Planet Atheism

Research Report: How Secular Humanists (and Everyone Else) Subsidize Religion in the United States (alwaysquestionauthority.com)
The Yearly Cost of Religious Tax Exemptions: $71,000,000,000 (patheos.com)
The Church Business (freethoughtblogs.com)
Study challenges tax exemption for religious organizations – Kimberly Winston – USA Today (richarddawkins.net)
U.S. Loses Over $71 Billion in Religious Tax Exemptions (atheistrev.com)
Study challenges tax exemption for religious organizations (usatoday.com)

CATHOLIC CHURCH & CHILD RAPE: U.S. Catholic Priest Found Guilty in Child Abuse Case

Posted on 06.23.2012 by AlwaysQuestionAuthority

(Reuters) – A monsignor who oversaw hundreds of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese was found guilty on Friday of one count of endangering the welfare of a child, making him the first senior U.S. Roman Catholic Church official to be convicted for covering up child sex abuse.

[…]

Barbara Dorris, outreach director for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the verdict put the Church on notice that it can no longer “shield and protect” abusive priests and expect to get away with it.

[…]

Lynn’s job was supervising 800 priests, including investigating sex abuse claims from 1992 to 2004, in the nation’s sixth largest archdiocese, with 1.5 million members.

Instead of looking out for children, prosecutors said, he chose to protect the Church from scandal and potential loss of financial support.

Read more . . .

In Philadelphia, Catholic Priest Convicted In Child-Rape Scandal Coverup (crooksandliars.com)
First senior US Catholic official found guilty of covering up sexual abuse (newstatesman.com)
US priest guilty of hiding abuse (bbc.co.uk)

CORPORATE CAPITALISM: Bill Moyers / Jamie Dimon’s ‘Family Reunion’ With the Senate Banking Committee

Posted on 06.14.2012 by AlwaysQuestionAuthority

In a preview of this weekend’s Moyers & Company, I talk with What’s the Matter With Kansas? author Thomas Frank about the friendly faces greeting Jamie Dimon when he appeared before the Senate Banking Committee this morning. Seven members of the committee were big recipients of money from the megabank.

Frank describes the revolving door of employment between government and corporate America, especially when it comes to Congressional staffers-turned-lobbyists.

“Staffers know they could drop what they’re doing and go work for a lobby firm and make fantastic money… They want to please these companies — even when they don’t work for those companies – because that’s their future employer and everybody knows it.”

Watch video here . . .