Religious Nuts Want To Kill Us All With Coronavirus

Florida :"pastor" Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested earlier
this month for defying orders to not hold services that
attract crowds.  

Religious wing nuts, the so-called "pro-life" activists, want to kill us.

That's the only conclusion I can reach with these idiots who insisting on opening their churches this pasr Easter Sunday for crowded services, in defiance of local, state and national orders to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Plus, they continue to hold services and are suing to be able to keep doing it.

So much for being "pro-life."  

Oh, sure, they're against abortion, saying it "kills babies," but they are plainly all for making the coronavirus pandemic worse by holding these services despite these crowds being the perfect way to spread Covid-19 exponentially.

More people will die than otherwise would had it not been for these idiots. Many of them will be innocent people who unknowingly make contact with these murderers.  Thou shall not kill?

Even pandering GOP politicians have gotten into this deadly act.

"Most  people want to limit the spread of Covid-19 (but) don't tell is we can't practice our religious freedoms," huffed  Kansas Republican Senate President Susan Wagle according to the Wichita Eagle.  in an article earlier this month. The paper reports that already, at least three clusters of Kansas Covid-19 outbreaks stemmed from religious services.

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, sued the state's GOP legislative council over that group's decision to overturn Kelly's order to limit the size of religious meetings and funerals to ten people, as HuffPost reports.

Hours before church services were to start on Easter, the Kansas State Supreme Court backed Kelly, saying she had the right to limit groups, including those in churches, to 10 people or less, reports the Kansas City Star.

This battle, of course continues, needlessly, of course.

There's all kinds of local dramas, mostly in the South, with these "religious" people. The guy who operates the Joe My God blog has brilliantly labeled these types as "Branch Covidians."

One of these idiots is Rodney Howard-Browne of The River At Tampa Bay, who was arrested for opening his church a week or two back.

According to The Daily Beast, Howard-Browne said he "would never back down," but did just that for the silliest attempt at a fig leaf.

He said he didn't want an outsider with coronavirus might go to the church to make the faithful sick, or something like that.

As you can tell, I'm completely fed up with these murderous evangelicals.  They whine constantly about how persecuted they are, and yet they are arguably afforded more rights and benefits than any other group in this nation. Their persecution complex has always been that they are all miffed beyond belief that not everybody thinks and acts the way they do.

Those smug asses think everybody should act in accordance with their "Christian nation" beliefs.

God forbid. No pun intended.

We all know exactly why the scamevangelists are cynically opening churches and risking their flock and fans.  It's all about the collection plate. This stay at home stuff just doesn't fit their business model.  Let's face it, most of these "pastors" are filthy rich and are some of the most common grifters out there.

The famous saying is true: There's a sucker born every minute. There's plenty of gullible people who fall for these religious scams. You can't shake their "faith" that attending church in groups is the only way to salvation. Whatever that is.

They tell us God is all powerful. If that's the case, God can hear our prayers whether we're in a church or alone at home.

Plenty of other religious denominations get it. They've closed their church doors and put their services on YouTube, or Facebook Live, or whatever else helps people get access to the church.  At last check, God has not struck these responsible churches down. No lightning strikes on the shuttered churches in my town, at least.

Besides, if you believe in God, you should know He gave us a brain.  Probably with the assumption we'd use it. Maybe God gave us the power to decide what is right and not right for us and especially for our neighbors. Passing this test is probably more of a mark of decency, religious righteousness and morals than anything else.

The scamevangelicals failed this test, and so did their fans.

I'm sure a lot of these gullible marks have gotten convinced this coronavirus pandemic is some sort of second coming. The End Times. They probably have been so brainwashed by these "pastors" that they'll believe anything. Just as long as the scamevangelicals rake in the dough, right?

In turn, these gullible cultists don't mind killing the rest of us. They know they Way, or so they think.

That persecution complex among these so called religious types is in full force when people try to enforce these big church gatherings.

In Kentucky, about 50 members of the Maryville Baptist Church attended Easter services, in violation of a state order to limit the size of gatherings during this pandemic. Policd took down license plate numbers of these church goers, threatening to quarantine them.

The church is planning a federal lawsuit claiming its constitutional rights were violated. After all, the First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, right?

However, one can practice their religion and not do it amid a crowd. In his order banning group gatherings, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear banned all large groups, not just religious ones. So no, the governor is not persecuting religious types, despite the whines of the Branch Covidians.

And despite the facts, the Liberty Counsel lawyers who are suing are claiming it was Beshear's intend to focus on churches. Um, yeah. Right.  I thought thou shall not lie was in the 10 Commandments, but what do i know?

As constitutional attornry Mitchell Denham told television stations WAVE, "You cannot place people in harm by exercising your religion."

A similar idiotic lawsuit, by the way, is pending in California.

It would be one thing if these religious nutbags were only putting themselves in harms way. But they're doing it to the rest of us, too.  Remember, as I said, they demand we be just like them.

But that is the worst role modeling anyone can follow.

The "religious" scammers I've just written about is just one of several groups of villians in this coronavirus outbreak. I'll feature more in coming posts.

That sounds negative, I realize, but now's the time to take down names.  When or if this is over, or even doing the evildoers in this pandemic need to be made accountable, just as the many heroes in this episode need to be celebrated forever.

Banks Gives Woman Fake Money And Screws Her Over; Town Gives Worker Jail Time For Working Too Early

According to the Albany, New York Times Union, a
Citizens Bank branch gave her $200 in counterfeit
money when she made a withdrawal. The bank told
Warrell it's her problem, and she has to absorb the loss.  

I know it doesn't happen to us all the time, but still, why do people who have just a tiny bit of power feel compelled to abuse it, and then make excuses for it.

Today, I have two examples. They consist of organizations that I suppose were following the rules ad the laws, but in reality applied those rules to avoid responsibility, and stick it to the little guy or gal.

Because the could.

BANK AS COUNTERFEIT CROOK

According to Chris Churchill in the Albany (N.Y) Times Union, Michele Warrell, a retired first grade teacher, went to a local Citizens Bank branch, withdrew $300 in three, crisp $100 bills to give to her grandson, as she does every year.

Everything seemed fine until Warrell's daugher tried to deposit the cash in the kid's savings account at a local credit union.

It turns out the bills were counterfeit. Fake. Citizens Bank apparently didn't check the bills carefully enough, and gave Warrell the bogus bills.

The decent thing to do would be for Citizens Bank to reimburse Warrell, who had been a customer of theirs for something like 50 years.

Nope, says Citizens, it was Warrell's tough luck. She's out $300.

As Churchill points out, most of the time, Citizen Bank's policy of not reimbursing customers who say they receive fake currency from them makes sense. Any Tom, Dick or Harry could claim the bank gave them the fake money when they made it themselves.

However, as Churchill again notes, Citizens Bank could have checked with the credit union, and the Secret Service, which had gotten involved in Warrell's case. They could have shown that Warrell doesn't have a counterfeit money machine in her sewing room.

As Churchill writes:

"Warren did nothing wrong, obviously, and it's hard to imagine how she could have guarded against the situation. When a bank hands you a $100 bill, you assume it's a genuine currency.

'I want people to know that they can give you counterfeit money, ad you have no recourse,' Warrell said. 

What we have here, then, is a scenario in which a company lost sight of good customer service practices and upset a longtime customer."

Warrell, understandably, is taking all her accounts away from Citizens Bank and putting them in another financial institution.

Let's hope Citizens Bank doesn't give her more fake currency, though.

JAILING THE NOISY TRASHMAN

Down in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, a trash collector named Kevin McGill was hard at work at 5:30 a.m. one day, when he got court citation. He was violating a local ordinance that barred trash collection before 7 a.m.  

Trash collector Kevin McGill figured he'd be fined
by the tonw of Sandy Springs, Georgia for working
too early, violating a noise ordinance. Instead
they're throwing him in jail for 30 days.  

He figured he'd go to court to pay a fine. Next thing he knew, a Sandy Springs judge, prodded by city prosecutor Bill Riley, was being sentenced to 30 days in jail, to be served on weekends, writes Spencer Woodman in Vice. 

I guess the fine citizens of Sandy Springs are so special that when they are annoyed for a few minutes by some guy collecting their trash, the move is as much of an affront as an armed robbery or something

Says Vice:

"Sandy Springs spokesperson Sharon Kraun says the early morning garbage truck noise is not something the city will tolerate.

'Our residents, they like their quality of life,' Kraun told me. 'And that means not waking up at 5 a.m. to hear the trash man.'"

It seems a lot of people are angry with the town for doing this to a guy who was just trying to do his job, albeit a little too early in the morning. Maybe McGill is guilty of being a bit rude, but jail time?

Especially since McGill's attorney and others say he was railroaded.

Vice again:

"McGill's attorney Kimberly Bandoh says that when McGill arrived at the Sandy Springs court to plea two weeks ago, he had not prepared at all for the prospect of facing jail time. Before he could properly assess what was happening, she says, the judge handed down the month-long jail sentence. 

'He didn't realize until he finished everything that you're actually going to have to go to jail for going to work early,' Brandoh told me. 'You don't sentence a guy in jail for 30 days for picking up trash. It's egregious.'"

Yes, considering people who do real harm, like drive drunk, commit simple assault or any number of misdemeanors don't spend a minute in jail.

I can't help but think this is yet another matter of race and class. McGill is black. Most of the "powers that be" in town are white. Trash collectors like McGill aren't exactly rich. Sandy Springs is an affluent suburb.

I"m sorry, but I can't help thinking that some richer people just think you throw away a "minion" you don't like, kind of like throwing away a leaf blower when it starts to sputter.

As Woodman notes in the article, the topic of aggressive policing and prosecutions have gotten a lot of notice lately after the federal Department of Justice described how racially troubled Ferguson, Missouri targeted black residents and handed them harsh penalties for minor or manufactured violations. 

Riley, the prosecutor, denies all this:

"'We look for the minimum punishment what will deter the crime,' Riley said, when asked whether the Department of Justice's report on Ferguson would make him second-guess his own office's treatment of cases like McGill's. 'We tried forever not to put anyone in jail for these cases, but it wasn't working.'"

You didn't try hard enough, Riley. An early morning trash pickup isn't a Crime Against Humanity, like you seem to think it is.

And what about the trash hauler McGill works for? The article says he is employed by Waste Management Inc., which had $14 billion in revenue last year.

Riley says Waste Management told McGill he had to start working after 7 a.m. to comply with the Silver Springs ordinance. Maybe, maybe not.

On top of all this, McGill will spend six months on probation, during which he has to make payments to the suburb to "cover the costs", quote, unquote. Yep, let's take what little money he has and make the rich judge in Sandy Springs richer.

If McGill has to pay fines, I'm starting to wish he'd pay it in the fake money the older woman in New York got from the bank.

An Excellent Reason To Hate Cheerios, Betty Crocker And Nature Valley

Whatever you do, don't say on Facebook or Twitter that you like Cheerios or any other product made by General Mills.  

With parent company General Mills
new "arbitration" agreement, Cheerios
suddenly taste like crap to me.  

Don't download or obtain any of their coupons. Pretend they don't exist. At least on line.  Don't do anything that has to do with Betty Crocker. She's now a scary whore, her owner/pimp is General Mills.

Nature Valley? Well, the parent company is a valley all right.

Why am I going off on these products so badly?

In the latest scumbag corporate move, General Mills says if you have any interaction with them like I've just described, you can't sue them for any reason, says the New York Times. 

You'd instead have to go to arbitration sessions set up by General Mills, and the deck will be so stacked against you, you probably won't win.

True, it's unlikely General Mills will do anything that will make you want or need to sue them.

But what if glass shards somehow end up in your bowl of Cheerios? What if you have a raging peanut allergy, and the General Mills box says there are no peanuts in the ingredients, but yet there are?

Well, you're screwed. And not just health wise. If you previously "liked" Cheerios on Facebook, General Mills will tell you to go pound sand if you get very sick or die from using eating their products.

Yeah, General Mills, in typical Big Corporate Speak, says they're doing you a favor because if something goes wrong you won't have to go through the pain and trouble of hiring a lawyer.

Actually, no. They're just trying not to get sued, to save their bottom line.

So much for the goodwill General Mills generated with their multi-racial family commercials.

(UPDATE: Amid the swirl of bad publicity over this Thursday night, General Mills said merely liking them on Facebook or Twitter won't stop you from suing. But as the New York Times pointed out Friday, the policy is muddled and can be interpreted as a ban on suing the company. )

Now back to our regularly scheduled rant:

You could boycott General Mills, but other companies might be doing this too, although the New York Times said this is the first major food company to pull this stunt.

These "you can't sue because you interacted with us" clauses are buried in a lot of credit card and on line companies' terms of agreement verbiage.

You've seen those terms of agreement. Pages and pages of legalese that nobody has the time or wherewithal to read. So you just sign up.

These companies know it's not humanly possible to wade through these long legal tracts. They could make them simple and easy to read. But that would defeat the purpose. The terms of agreement are not designed to lay out what you can and cannot buy.

They're designed to be daunting so you don't read them. Like I said, corporate scumbags trying to squeeze every penny out of you, and preventing you from getting relief if their product injures you or screws up your life.

Some states don't really let these clauses hold much water and you still might be able to sue, but some "pro business" states say they're fine. Because corporations NEVER do anything wrong and people who get injured by companies are just lazy losers trying to get a quick buck.

Yes, there is such a thing as a frivolous lawsuit, but there's also such a thing as a legit one.

But the deck is getting more and more stacked against you. A Whataburger joint in Texas even put up a notice that you can't sue, you have to go to faux arbitration if you just step into the place, says Mother Jones. 

If a company injures you through neglect or malfeasance, you're on your own, pal.

I'm sure as hell NOT going to have Cheerios for breakfast tomorrow. And probably not ever.

Scumbags.

Has This Been National Spectacularly Horrible Person Week

The news this week seems to have been dominated by people who came out of obscurity to demonstrate what horrible people they are.

Brian Cole Stone, the idiot
that caused the dramatic police
chase in Denver.  

Are people trying to break some Guiness Book of World Record mark for extreme awfulness?

We had that idiot in Denver, who spent an hour carjacking people, including stealing one car with a four year old kid inside and racing around the Denver metro area at speeds of up to 100 mph. It's a wonder nobody got killed.

The Denver Post said the carjacker, Brian Cole Stone, has an 11-page criminal record.

So the guy is a first class loser.  And the people he affected were so random. You just never know.

The Denver Post had this bit of the drama:

"Stacy Rader, 39, was on her way to work and listening to a radio broadcast of the chase when the suspect T-boned her 2008 Camry at the intersection of East Lincoln Avenue and South Peoria Street.

'That pushed me further into the intersection into eastbound traffic, and I got hit by two other cars,' she said in a telephone interview.

I sometimes complain about police brutality as authorities sometimes get a little too violent when making arrests. But to be honest, when I saw the video of police arresting Stone, I thought they handled him a bit too gently.

I hate to say it, but I would have wanted to rough him up.

Here's the video, then beneath that, we have an even worse person to contemplate:




Even worse is the drunk driver in Texas this week.

Actually, he's much worse than Stone.  Rashad Charjuan Owen, 21, of Killeen, Texas, who, early Thursday morning, decided it would be a spendid idea to try to evade cops who were after him for drunk driving and plow into crowds at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.

Two people died and 23 were injured. He faces two charges of capital murder and numerous aggravated assault charges.

Police said Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, was
drunk and driving a stolen car when he plowed
into a crowd at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas
this week, killing two and injuring 23.  

Yeah, he'll rot in jail for a long time. This seems to happen all the time. People cause such chaos and pain, thinking they can get away from police and not get punished for any crime they committed. And if getting away from the police means killing a few people, so what?

Just goes to prove that one of the most dangerous combinations in the world is bravado and extreme stupidity.

Have fun on death row, Rashad!

Finally, remember Curtis Reeves the guy who shot and killed another man in a Florida movie theater because he was texting?  Turns out Reeves himself was texting in that very movie theatre moments before he shot the other guy for texting.

So Reeves is a bigger asshole than we first thought. Not only did he object to people texting during the previews in a movie theater, he apparently believes he can text during that time, but nobody else can.

This week, then, we have three strong nominees for Worst Person In the World.

Let's hope they're the last nominees. I think we all need a vacation from horrible people for a good long time.