Anyone who'd ever worked on a school newspaper or attempted to speak their mind in another way at a school already knows that liberty for children is avoided lest they use it and punished when they do. But, that is exactly why everyone should support this bill and bills like it. It's the unintended consequences that should specifically be encouraged.

And, once students have a moment of free speech in school but are then ultimately restricted from speaking about certain topics in those moments, the inevitable lawsuits will follow ... thus, drowning that baby of the school system in the tub. Yes, that's another win-win in the mind of those with a radical conservative agenda. But, why not give them what they want followed by a big heaping load of what they don't since it will no doubt be fun for the students and those of us laughing from the sidelines.

"The Florida House will vote today on a bill that will let students from kindergarten to 12th grade offer 'inspirational messages' — that critics said could range from Christian prayer to Satanic messages to political advocacy — at mandatory public school events.

The proposal, SB 98, would permit school boards to adopt standards for how and when students in public schools could lead public prayer at any school event, even mandatory gatherings like student assemblies. The prayer would have to be initiated and delivered by students, with no involvement by faculty or staff.

'This bill is not intended to advance or endorse any religion or belief, but rather to provide for the ceremonialization of school events,' said House sponsor Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights." [via]

"If some students lead prayers at school events, others who don't share their faith may feel pressure to join in, and risk isolation if they don't. And what happens when a student takes the microphone to deliver an 'inspirational message' about Satanism? How about a Wiccan prayer?" [via]

Yes, and ... that seems like the beginning of some much needed delicious, delightful chaos ... at least until schools implement "free speech zones" ... marked out on the ground, perhaps in chalk ... with strange glyphs from a long-forgotten language ... you know, "for protection" ...

"Faux-Satanism isn't a new concept in metal. As far back as Black Sabbath, bands have pretended to run with the devil, or at least coyly hinted at having some literal religious affiliation with him. Like studio gangstas rapping about accruing Schwarzenegger-level body counts, it's a good marketing ploy for its target demographic. Ghost, however, are pretty upfront about the fact that they're just fucking around. It's even funnier considering where they come from: In Scandinavia, metalheads take evildoing very seriously; the more churches a band has burned down, the greater its popularity. In that way, Ghost's whole schtick—including its sound, a throwback to '80s British metal, with psychedelic accents—seems like a commentary on the extremism of modern metal."

And, here's where I think the phenomena has its raison d'être distilled, and moreover justified: (my emphasis)

"At its core, Ghost resurrects an idea lost in the stern-faced, eviler-than-thou attitude of today's heavy music: Being wicked is meant to be fun. And looking around as they played at the Hawthorne Theater crowd headbanging, air-guitaring, and, most of all, smiling, I'd say they've made some converts."

See also some recent posts of Ghost performing over on the main Hermetic Library blog: Tag Archives: Ghost

"'Mr. Cookson seems to suggest the he can practice peacefully and, until someone gets hurt, you really can't ban him,' he said.

But Cookson said in court documents that he sees it differently, saying the commissioners 'failed to articulate, much less support with evidence, a secular reason why a meeting of Satanist inmates would pose a greater security risk than inmates of other faiths.'"

"Rimer became interested in this field in the late 1980s at the height of the Satanic Panic phenomenon. Banking on his credentials as a police officer, Rimer held seminars for law enforcement on criminal activity allegedly associated with Goth and vampire culture, heavy metal music, role-playing games, Wicca, Afro-Atlantic religions, and Satanism. These groups, he argued, represented a palpable and growing danger."

"America has a long history of moral panics regarding the religious Other and it does not appear this pattern will end any time soon. However, Rimer's passing is an important milestone in the history of America's fear and fascination surrounding cults and Satanism. He will be dearly missed by his friends and family--and perhaps by some of his 'enemies' as well."

"It may look like Christianity is under serious attack from civic officialdom, but that’s not where the true danger lies.

The real bias against the Christian faith comes from the world of ideas. It is tempting to blame the 'new atheists,' writers like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, who became bestsellers by arguing against God. But if Christians want to understand why people have abandoned the church, they should look beyond these very public atheists.

If my encounters with students mean anything — not to mention the data from Statistics Canada that identify growing numbers of people who believe in God yet don’t belong to a church or other worshipping community — there is a significant preference in our culture (among younger people at least) to identify ourselves as 'spiritual but not religious.'

If Christians want to show how Christianity is a plausible spiritual and religious option, they should think about personal commitment and history. Two problematic ideas are at work in 2011: first, a spiritual individualism that intentionally bypasses the Christian church's 2,000-year-old tradition of thought; and second, Gnosticism, the recurring spiritual outlook that is equal parts esoteric thinking and sheer historical detachment." [via]

"A note distributed to households by this parish warns parents that Halloween, celebrated on October 31, exposes people to 'sadism, sexual violence, satanism, torture, mutilation and strange killing'"

The apparent take away here is that normal killing is okay, but not the strange kind?

"The note, which parish priest Fr Kalċidon Vassallo confirmed was the parish’s doing, comes replete with a hand-drawn skull and pumpkin and warns readers that Halloween 'celebrates a culture of death' and 'attacks that which is holy'."

I'm amused by the way that the note derides and yet also participates in the season by pairing the hysterical words with the seasonally festive decorations. This is a coded message, then. Let those with ears hear, I guess.

"It concludes with a motley list of 'other things which draw children towards the occult'. The list includes heavy metal music, negative and fantastical role-playing, sadistic pornography and reading about the occult and Satan."

Wait. What? Now I'm confused. This seems like a recommendation to me ...

"Halloween is a neo-pagan feast that finds its origins in old pagan cults all over Europe. Halloween, in a most subtle way, focuses on death, the occult and evil spirits"

"In a most subtle way"? You're doing it wrong.

"'Halloween has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian.'"

Okay, now I know it's a recommendation!

Of course, the article also points out: "The note has gone viral on social networks such as Facebook, even provoking hilarity and sarcasm." So, I guess I'm already late to this party, but I prefer to think I'm just fashionably late.

"It is the belief of Tobias Churton that a perverse 'hatred of bourgeois attitudes' is what motivated Aleister Crowley until the very end of his days.

I'm not so sure. Crowley liked his creature comforts and his zany posturing would fit in well with upper-class dilettante life. Crowley lived off family money for as long as he could and, when the inheritance expired, tried to raise funds by suing everyone for defamation of character. Such were his delusions of grandeur one of Crowley's aliases was Count Vladimir Svareff and, after graduating from Cambridge, he bought a castle near Loch Ness. There was also a villa in Sicily where Crowley presided over his orgies like a Victorian patriarch."

And, check out the masthead for the Express, for a bit of synchronistic symbolism:

If you're interested in biographies of Aleister Crowley, you may want to check out Aleister Crowley: The Biography: Spiritual Revolutionary, Romantic Explorer, Occult Master and Spy by Tobias Churton.

"For the first time in recorded history, art show judges have given a First Place award to a ceramic which portrays a mythical, naked, hermaphrodite giving birth to Siamese twins. The judges were lawyers presenting the California State Bar’s “Bench and Bar” art exhibition at the Bar’s 84th Annual Meeting in Long Beach. The piece honored was “Baphomet has a Baby” by Robert Crook of Pasadena.

Members of the California State Bar have often set precedents that have influenced decision makers around the world. Time will tell if this decision will also influence actual cases heard in courts here and elsewhere. The art show judges’ decision, in the context of all top three awards being graphic nudes, is making a pretty strong statement that members of the California Bar take the Supreme Court’s March 2011 ruling on the First Amendment very seriously. In the landmark ruling, the Supreme Court determined that the Freedom of Expression protections of the First Amendment have top priority."

"Three men convicted of the murders of three Cub Scouts are enjoying their freedom, nearly two decades after they were sent to prison in a controversial case which led to suspicions the children were killed in a Satanic ritual."

"Jac Zagoory sells pewter staple removers in the form of various animals. And also a Masonic-themed multitool."