Sunday, January 15, 2012


And now there are three - a record in one month!

It started with the traffic cop who doesn't know a red light from a green light.

Now I have TWO more to add!  This makes a record THREE WTF awards in one month!

First, one - dateline: Cranston High School West, Cranston, Rhode Island.  Picture this:
The school, for over fifty years, has had a nice little prayer banner in the school's auditorium, not hurting anyone.  In fact, the prayer was written by a guy, David Bradley, who was in the seventh grade at the time he was asked to write it.  He will be 65 this Thursday.
Fast forward to 2012 - this Jessica Ahlquist, CHSW student and resident atheist, with the help of her daddy and the infamous American Civil Liberty (Deprivation) Union, er, ACL(D)U, get a federal judge to order the banner taken down.  So apparently any Christian religion is not ok, but atheism, which is a religion in itself (albeit without a God), is.
Incidentally, Governor Lincoln Chafee, to whom I gave a WTF award last month for insisting the Christmas tree he less-than-ceremoniously lit is nothing more than a "holiday tree", supports the judge's decision.  Why should I not be surprised?
To add insult to injury, now that Miz Ahlquist got her wish, she now fears for her life (apparently there have been threats against her, not surprising; I wish no harm on anyone, but I have to say, it's not surprising) and she no longer wants to attend Cranston West, the very school she just (by some fluke) successfully sued.  In fact, it's been noted in a Facebook thread that she is looking to attend LaSalle Academy in Providence - a Catholic high school.  I suppose she'll be looking to do similar damage to that school as well?!  One can only hope whoever is in charge of admissions at LaSalle will note Miz Ahlquist's behavior when deciding whether or not to let her in, if what I read is true, that is.
So, this makes Jessica Ahlquist the second WTF Award recipient of January 2012.

Now for the latest one - dateline: a Citizens Bank branch inside a Stop and Shop supermarket.
Normally you would think that a bank is the easiest place to ask for something as simple as a couple of rolls of quarters.  For months, I have been able to do that with no problem.  The supermarket branch is open for a brief time on Sundays and some holidays (they'll be open tomorrow, MiLK Day from 11-3), something normal bank branches do not do.
This afternoon, after I finished my last Mass of the day, I went to the Stop and Shop near home to pick up a gallon of milk and grab a couple of rolls of quarters so we can do our laundry (we have a laundry room downstairs in our apartment building).  This time, I get "Do you have an account here?"  I said to the teller, "No, but I get them here all the time.  Why?"  "Because we're not allowed to take money from non-customers," she said.  "Since when?  That's new to me."  "It's not new.  I'll do it this one time as a courtesy."  So from now on you need an account just to make change?  What the sam hell is this dame (or her employer) thinking?  It's not like my $20 bill is going to bounce like a basketball check.  It's that kind of service that just gives me more reason NOT to start account with Citizens.  What kind of tie-ups would I encounter if my money did land up there?  No thanks, I don't want to know.  Oh, and further, as of a little over a year ago, they now charge seven bucks to cash a check that's drawn on their bank if you don't have an account.  As my mother would say about banks and utilities, "The bigger they get, the worse they get!"
So, WTF Award number three for January 2012 goes to Citizens Bank.



explody said...

Thanks for citing your references. "a Facebook thread" is surely a solid and reputable source of information. Here's one a little bit better since it's from Jessica herself on twitter, easily verified by anyone with a web browser: "idk what I'm doing next year, but I can promise that I will not be going to a Catholic school. Ever."!/jessicaahlquist/status/159373769817849856

Brian Michael Page said...

Well, if that's the case, that would be a good note. No admissions director in his/her right mind would let an atheist into a Catholic school. As for Twitter, I do not use Twitter, nor do I care to. We could be calling each other out for ever, and truthfully I have better things to do. She's already a coward for doing the damage she did to Cranston West, then wanting to leave.

BTW, do you know Miz Ahlquist personally that you follow her Twitter?

The Expatriate said...

@Brian Michael Page: How is it cowardly to leave an institution if the people there mistreat you? Frankly, the real cowards here are state legislators who pick a fight with a sixteen year old.

And how is Cranston West damaged? The lack of a stupid banner won't really change things, other than the fact that tax payer money isn't being used for a religious message.

One can't help but wonder whether Christians truly believe what they do, given their need to constantly shout it at the top of their lungs. One can't help but wonder whether they're trying to convince themselves.

The Expatriate said...


Stay classy, Mr. Page, stay classy.

Brian Michael Page said...

Question for the "Expatriate": Are you a fellow atheist? Or just an atheist sympathizer?
How fair is it that the vast (and I DO mean "VAST") majority of the student body and their families have to be deprived of their beliefs for the sake of ONE? Why should WE be the ones to "cow-tow"? Explain that, "Expatriate".

The Expatriate said...

Brian, Brian, Brian...

This is a constitutional democracy. In America, it is not a case of the majority rules-just ask Al Gore! The judge in the case was able to cite a number of legal precedents for his ruling. Only the Antonin Scalia brand of judicial half-wits still believe the way you do.

I'm an agnostic, not an atheist, but I am reasonably sure that I don't want religious beliefs shoved in my face in a taxpayer funded institution.

How are the student body and their families deprived of their beliefs? They can pray in their homes in their churches, which are not paid for with MY money. You are not making any sense.

At least I'm not a thug who apparently condones making death threats-a criminal offense in most states.

Brian Michael Page said...

Religious beliefs aren't "shoved in your face". If you don't like the banner, don't look at it. Simple as that. Simili modo: if you don't like what I write on my blog, simply don't read it. This country was founded on religious beliefs, and we the people are not going to watch this country go to hell by cow-towing to people like you.

I wish no one harm.

Brian Michael Page said...

Oh, and those pieces of currency that we use to pay our taxes says, and will continue to say:


Or will you want that removed too?

The Expatriate said...

What do coins have to do with this?

BTW, if you post comments for the whole world to see to the effect that someone effectively deserves to receive threats, you have only yourself to blame if you get negative feedback.