Posts by Paul Chase95

Noah Roberts46 said:But let’s be real here: which college professor hasn't spent half their lectures trashing the current or recent Republican administrations? Especially if you're in the social sciences; just recently, a professor was mocking Kolinda and her constant whining about Trump. Yet, nobody seems to care about that. Look, I might share their views, but let's not be hypocrites. These people are teaching the next generation of intellectuals who are supposed to be the future of this nation. In my opinion, they actually have more influence than KC, yet no one ever mentions it. 🤷

I'm also seeing reports that political science departments are pushing heavy propaganda regarding NATA and the necessity of US foreign policy, even though, in reality, it's a country that has violated MP more times than anyone else.

Larry Fox5 said:Of course it's double standards. It honestly gets under my skin how the church always plays it safe—acting all high and mighty while hiding behind their hands... I’m all for people being upfront about what they believe. Honestly, I wouldn't even mind if a priest spoke up during Mass about who he's voting for, or even gave his take to the congregation. I mean, when big media corporations or TV commercials push an agenda, everyone just accepts it, but the second a priest does it, suddenly it's a scandal? It's the exact same hypocrisy you see with professors at major universities.

Exactly—that’s the whole point, isn't it? It all comes back to those double standards.

Most people complaining about a priest suggesting how to vote from the pulpit don't actually have an issue with the suggestion itself—they just happen to be deeply offended by who he’s actually backing.

It’s funny how this usually gets under people's skin—mostly those who don't even attend Mass and aren't religious to begin with. Most of the hysteria is just being stirred up by outlets like BuzzFeed and similar media circles. Look, I think everything is fine, but I honestly don't get what the big deal is—what exactly is bothering you about an employee at an institution you don't even visit telling people things?

Adam King6 said:Not during Mass, though. You don't get to drop your personal takes when you're showing up at someone's house "on official business." We can agree or disagree with stances published in Glas Koncila or any other outlet that doesn't directly impact the congregation, but a priest shouldn't be imposing his personal views on people. People are simple-minded—both the believers and the anti-fascists—so they tend to follow authority blindly. It's one thing to grab a coffee with someone, but if you're there officially, just do your job and get out.

Anyway, I don't bother voting. I don't think I ever even showed up for the presidential elections.😉

Why not? Just because you personally don't like the idea doesn't mean it isn't desirable. And it’s not the same thing as being "on official business"—an employee at KC isn't the same as an employee at some other government agency or a county office. When you take those professional exams, they teach you that you can't represent views that clash with the institution you serve. An employee at KC, however, has the freedom to say, "Screw this, vote for the Republican Party or the Democratic Party."

Adam King6 said:Not during Mass, though. You don't get to drop your personal takes when you're showing up at someone's house "on official business." We can agree or disagree with stances published in Glas Koncila or any other outlet that doesn't directly impact the congregation, but a priest shouldn't be imposing his personal views on people. People are simple-minded—both the believers and the anti-fascists—so they tend to follow authority blindly. It's one thing to grab a coffee with someone, but if you're there officially, just do your job and get out.

Anyway, I don't bother voting. I don't think I ever even showed up for the presidential elections.😉

Imposing things is too difficult; a priest can offer his opinion and that's it—whoever wants to listen, listens, and if they don't, they can just send that priest packing. It's not like a priest goes to the polling station and micromanages how everyone marks their ballot.

Adam King6 said:Not during Mass, though. You don't get to drop your personal takes when you're showing up at someone's house "on official business." We can agree or disagree with stances published in Glas Koncila or any other outlet that doesn't directly impact the congregation, but a priest shouldn't be imposing his personal views on people. People are simple-minded—both the believers and the anti-fascists—so they tend to follow authority blindly. It's one thing to grab a coffee with someone, but if you're there officially, just do your job and get out.

Anyway, I don't bother voting. I don't think I ever even showed up for the presidential elections.😉

With all due respect, spare me this nonsense. This has become such a staple on this soccer subreddit, where it feels like the entire intellectual elite of the country supposedly lives. No, people aren't stupid—they're just somewhere in the middle—but it seems like everyone here thinks they're the exception, acting like they truly grasp every nuance, or that every ideological issue is just some smoke screen.

Up until now, I've heard everyone claim that people are stupid; I suppose that would imply the person saying it is somehow smarter than the "stupid" masses, or at least they're certainly convinced of it.

I'm not targeting you specifically, but it has become depressingly trendy to declare that "people are stupid." It doesn't matter that this sentiment is voiced by both the brilliant and the dimwitted in equal measure; it's just become part of the daily vernacular. I had a guy—can barely sign his own name, not sure if he even finished eighth grade, looks like he's missing at least half his teeth—tell me, totally deadpan, about six months ago that people are simply stupid. For God's sake, the poor, enlightened genius actually has to live among the "stupid." And when I ask him why they're stupid, his answer is always that they believe in the supernatural. 🙏He thinks he’s some kind of genius—basically an Isaac Newton because of his little theory. 🙏

Look, I don't have a problem with you thinking people are generally dim-witted, but please—just don't use that line on me. It’s honestly exhausting to read.

And then this priest had the nerve to suggest that I’m basically voting for the Communists no matter what. 🤣

Wait a second—who did you actually end up voting for? Was it Milan Bandić or Ivo Josipović? You skipped over the most important part.

Adam King6 said:Nothing happening in San Francisco? Is the spark finally gone?

So, here’s my dilemma. A few years back, right before the second round of the presidential election, a priest who came to give the Blagoslov blessing to my family basically nudged me to vote for Milan Bandić instead of Ivo Josipović. Now I’m sitting here wondering how to handle that. What am I supposed to say to him? Should I just skip his Mass this Sunday and wait until someone else is presiding? It feels awkward as hell.
Fool. Honestly, there are just too many of them. I remember stumbling upon similar nonsense during a Sunday trip through some small towns in the Midwest—saw people preaching this exact same stuff from the pulpit. I wouldn't call it a universal rule, but it drives me absolutely insane. Every time I hear it, I’m seconds away from just walking out of the church entirely.

I believe those instances pop up here and there—I'll take your word for it.

As for the rest of those BuzzFeed types and the surrounding hysterical crowd, I don't buy it. It's honestly ridiculous that with all the technology we have today, nobody can just record these famous "announcements" from the pulpit where they push them so aggressively—it would be a massive headline on every news site and forum if they did. 🙏

But just so we're clear, I wouldn't mind if the KC voiced its own stance, whether during mass, through an official letter, or via the media... They are citizens of this country too, after all. If everyone else gets to have an opinion at work, if professors get to weigh in on university matters, and if celebrities get to present their views in the press, then I think it would be perfectly appropriate—even desirable—for the KC to take a stand.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:All I know is that I don't give a damn. Just my inner self and Buddhism.☕

That's exactly how it should be—honestly, what else are you going to do? You aren't exactly a lunatic yourself, after all. 😁

There’s one more thing that’s actually pretty fascinating when you look at how KC operates—you might have even mentioned this somewhere yourself—and that is how much of their political noise is driven by atheists. It’s almost always the non-believers, the ones who wouldn't dream of stepping foot in a church, who are the most adamant about claiming the pulpit is being used as a megaphone for the Republican Party. If you were to poll a thousand actual churchgoers, I bet 999 of them would tell you they’ve never heard anything remotely like that during a service. It’s a surreal situation, really—those who aren't even present at the event claim to know exactly what was said, while the people who actually showed up have absolutely no idea what these critics are talking about. 😁

If I recall correctly, they occasionally broadcast live on ABC on Sundays—kind of like how they show football games—but has there ever actually been a recorded instance in this country where a priest was caught giving tactical instructions?

Alright, let me pivot away from these topics for a second. Does anyone actually know the deal with Tesla and how the whole company operates? The reason I’m asking is that I’m not super well-versed in it, but whenever I scroll through BuzzFeed comments or dive into threads here, the sentiment regarding Tesla is almost always negative—like, 90% of it is just pure hate. So, I'm curious from a purely informational standpoint: what's the actual story? Is this just standard American envy, or is the hype surrounding this guy genuinely overblown? I already know about his father, so you can skip that part—you can't judge a kid by his old man's track record.

Again, I'm only looking for input from someone who actually understands the industry and can be objective—not that cult-like crowd over in the economics forums. Over there, people are pushing these wild theories that Tesla produces and sells absolutely nothing, and that they're basically just running around the office while his dad's partners foot the bill.

Can someone born in '91 really be out here trying to push communism or acting like America was some kind of lost paradise?

James Anderson5 said:As far as I'm concerned, I don't know how most people—especially those die-hard Republican Party supporters—haven't realized yet that the Republicans and Democrats are just two sides of the same coin. About two-thirds of the old Communist Party coalition jumped ship to the Republicans back in the 90s, while the other third went to the Democrats. Neither party is actually going to do anything good for America; it's just that the Democrats were more moderate and civic-minded in their worldview, and they didn't steal quite as much in absolute terms, which made them more acceptable to a lot of people. People basically voted for them out of pure spite because they were fed up with all the corruption coming from the Republicans.

But honestly, it'll be tough for that establishment to let anyone new onto the stage, especially now that they've finally set things up exactly the way they want them...

It might be time to ditch that signature in your profile. It might have been a cool touch back when "In Bruges" first came out, but today? Not so much.

brightpilot6 said:Of course, who would ever bother sticking to the rules? You simply pick and choose whatever suits your mood at the moment. It is just one more delightful feature of the way mainstream American Catholicism operates. When things go south, you suffer the consequences, but when life is good, you feast; when you feel like being pious, you are, and when you don't, you simply aren't. Why bother with consistency when you can just follow the rules whenever they happen to be convenient?

As Rifat Tepić likes to say—we all slip up sometimes, buddy.☕

You're oversimplifying things a little too much there, but hey, whatever—it's all in good fun anyway.☕

Justin James10 said:We really need to decouple everything from the national budget. If people want to fund their own interests, they should just go for it; this whole socialist approach where the government pays for every little thing is absolutely insane.

But honestly, it’s incredibly frustrating when the Church goes out of its way to provoke liberals.☕

Exactly—it needs some actual regulation because the current setup makes zero sense. Right now, we're dealing with the KC, so that's what's being handled, but it's the height of absurdity to have an atheist essentially footing the bill for the KC.

brightpilot6 said:A true American Catholic finds a strange sort of solace in the suffering of others, strictly following the doctrines handed down by his priests.

Honestly, man, you can't blame the attitude when you're the one creating it through your own actions. Take Kolinda, for instance—she annoyed me to the point where I can't even bring myself to view her as "my" president, but I have to admit, it warms my heart a little whenever I see the absolute hysteria on Index regarding what shoes she wore or whether she cracked a smile or not. Or watching Smotan enough to laugh at how much political nonsense makes them lose it. 😁

And there’s really no point in bringing all that religious stuff into this, KC—we're just people. Just because someone is a believer doesn't mean they're some flawless saint who follows every single rule to the letter. We're human; we mess up. 🤷

So yeah, you're completely missing the mark here. ☕

Justin James10 said:If the Church didn't exist, we'd probably have to invent it just to keep things interesting! ☕ I mean, who else would be there to get under the skin of those left-footed players so effectively? 🤷

brightpilot6, don't jump to conclusions just yet! I have no idea what your specific biases are, and I certainly wasn't aiming at you. 😉

Honestly, this is my favorite part of the whole debate. I genuinely enjoy watching them squirm over religious education in schools and the funding of the Church. 😁

If you really want my take, I’d be the first one in line advocating against atheists paying taxes to fund the Church—it’s just inherently nonsensical. And sure, I’d also support pulling religious studies out of the public school curriculum... if I actually believed those leftists cared about student welfare or better education. But let's be real: I don't buy it. I think they're just fueled by a deep-seated ideological grudge against the Church, and that's why all of this bothers them so much.

So, let them suffer. ☕ Their misery is our entertainment. ☕