A COMMENT ON THE RECENT U.S. ELECTIONS
While the transfer of executive power in the US will assuredly result
in changes, TST's challenges will undoubtedly persist. Many local
communities, cities, and states will continue to privilege their
preferred religion over others and inappropriately use their
political power to sponsor these efforts. In response, TST plans to
ramp up its efforts to ensure our members are visible wherever
religious displays are permitted. We will also participate in good
works for the community where religious groups can participate, such
as cleaning up the highway. We plan to aggressively fight our
exclusion from forums such as city invocations and public schools,
which prohibit students from wearing clothes with our insignia even
though other religious signs are permitted. In addition, the battle
over bodily autonomy, especially with regard to reproductive rights,
is likely to get more contentious. TST will continue to be right
there on the front lines. One of the changes planned will be to
create more opportunities for members to engage in campaigns and
actively participate. We look forward to meeting these challenges in
the coming year and appreciate the support of our members to create a
better world.
TST Believes the Ruling Sets A Dangerous Precedent for The Supreme
Court
While The Satanic Temple’s appeal in its lawsuit over Missouri’s
abortion laws is still scheduled to be reviewed by the US Supreme
Court to decide if they will hear the case, the US Supreme Court
dismissed TST’s motion to disqualify Justice Amy Coney Barrett due to questions regarding her ability to impartially consider a case
involving abortion.
TST’s complaint was initially filed when TST member Judy Doe, seeking
an abortion in Missouri, was forced to accept literature that
asserted the position that life begins at conception and then was
made to endure a three-day waiting period that was designed to
instill guilt and shame for her decision. We argued that the
imposition of this arbitrary view on when life begins violates their
religious beliefs of science and bodily autonomy, and creates an unconstitutional undue burden on Doe’s religious practices. The
Eighth Circuit Court dismissed the case and held that Missouri’s proclamations do not violate Doe’s free exercise of religion, even
though they are rooted in Catholic dogma. We appealed this decision
to the Supreme Court.
In our motion to disqualify, we stated that “any objective observer
would reasonably believe it is unlikely Justice Barrett could set
aside her deeply-held religious beliefs on the illegitimacy of
abortion and barbarity of [Roe v. Wade] to render an impartial
decision on the Petition.” We cited numerous examples in our motion
that unequivocally display Justice Barrett’s hostility towards the
act of terminating a pregnancy. Yet, the Supreme Court refused to
recognize that her dogmatic conclusions related to abortion, which
she announced publicly, can reasonably affect her ability to
impartially rule on our religious freedom claims.
Federal law states that judges must disqualify themselves in any
proceeding in which their impartiality might reasonably be
questioned.
Because the Supreme Court has essentially removed any basis for
asserting bias, they invite questions about the legitimacy of the
legal system as a whole. When the Supreme Court considers if they
will hear our abortion case in conference on November 20, we hope for
the sake of upholding fair and impartial jurisprudence that they will
make decisions justified by established legal precedence.
As part of the Protect Children Project campaign, TST has published a
handbook entitled “The Satanic Temple’s Guide to Religious Freedom in Public Schools.” The guide addresses the Constitutional protections
for religious expression in the classroom and shows how children are
legally permitted to practice Satanism in public schools. The First
Amendment protects religious expression, which includes conducting
Satanic prayer and wearing Satanic clothing and jewelry at school.
The handbook also provides information about religious exemptions
that Satanic children are afforded while they are in school. As TST
believes one’s body is inviolable, Satanists do not have to be
subject to physically and psychologically traumatizing disciplinary
tactics that some teachers and administrators use.
These include corporal punishment, solitary confinement, being
physically restrained, or being deprived of bathroom access. These
barbaric treatments amount to physical and psychological torture and
violate our tenets when imposed without consent.
Through the Protect Children Project and the Religious Rights in
School handbook, we encourage students to notify their school board
of their religious convictions and put them on notice that these
forms of treatment violate their deeply-held beliefs and are civil
rights violations constituting grounds for legal recourse.
The handbook can be downloaded for free as a PDF or purchased in our
online shop at
<
https://thesatanictemple.com/>www.thesatanictemple.com. <
https://thesatanictemple.com/> <
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0428/0465/files/TSTs_RELIGIOUS_RIGHTS_IN_SCHOOL-V1.2.pdf?v=1605020095>
<
https://thesatanictemple.com/>
Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the
world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit
one's beliefs.
Scientific discoveries often result in the revision of our
understanding of various phenomena. Although science-based knowledge
is imperfect and better interpretations will replace many currently
accepted beliefs, this does not mean that all views are equally
valid. Even if they are later rejected or revised, beliefs that are
backed by empirical evidence are broadly preferable to those without evidentiary support. Continuous revisions of established knowledge
made in response to new revelations ultimately improve our capacity
to predict outcomes. This interactive and self-correcting feature of
science ensures that beliefs are not uniformly arbitrary and that
they aspire to be free of bias.
I
I've invented a new diet: Whenever you are hungry, instead of going
into the kitchen and eating, go into the bedroom and fuck or
masturbate. Water and clear broths are also permitted. This diet
won't work all that well if you have a job, unless you have either a
lot of self-discipline or an extremely permissive employer. However,
I have a week off work, so I am testing this diet out right now. I
will let you know how it goes.
II
I'm on day two of the Fuck or Masturbate Diet. I have checked the
scale twice today and I haven't lost any weight, but I am not
discouraged. My theory is that I've replaced some of my weight with
water weight. I've been drinking an awful lot of water. I've had
eleven orgasms.
III
I'm on day three of my diet and I've already run out of the clear
broth, and it was tricky making more because I felt that I ought to
jerk off while I was making it. So it was like making the broth with
my right hand tied behind my back. Then, after making the broth, for
balance, I jerked off with my left hand tied behind my back. My
conclusion is that before beginning the Fuck or Masturbate Diet,
clear broths should be prepared in advance
IV
Day four. For several hours today I was so weak with hunger I
couldn't have made it to the kitchen even if I had wanted to. I did
make it to the bathroom. I have decided that it is probably not a
good idea to leave the apartment, because if I were to bump into a
friend, and that friend happened to be eating a pretzel or knish, I
would grab it out of his or her hand and devour it right in front of
him. This diet is important to me, but it is not worth losing friends
over
V
It is day five of the Fuck or Masturbate Diet and if you're just
joining me, the idea is that instead of eating, you fuck or
masturbate. Technically, I suppose, it should be called the Fuck or
Masturbate Fast, as the word "diet" implies that some kind of eating
is involved. When I first conceived of this project, I thought I
would probably be unable to resist eating, and I didn't want to feel
like a failure. But here I am, on day five, and I've lost six pounds
and I have had 38 orgasms. I'd say so far, it's been a success.
VI
I'm on day six. I've begun to hallucinate every time I orgasm. The
Hindu goddess Lakshmi appeared to me several times today and promised
me wealth, fortune, and prosperity (both material and spiritual).
Then her husband Vishnu appeared and asked me if I was fucking his
wife and I said no, I swear. Not even a hand job (note: Lakshmi has
four arms, and each one has a hand). Vishnu appeared to believe me
and then disappeared. I haven't seen Lakshmi since, and it's probably
just as well as I am so hungry at this point I might have tried
something with her.
VII
More hallucinations: I saw Kali, goddess of change, preservation and destruction;
Parvati, goddess of love, fertility and devotion; Radha, the life
energy of Krishna; and for some reason, Daenerys Targaryen, the
Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and of the First Men,
Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains
and Mother of Dragons, and she was, in fact, in this vision, riding a
dragon, but-and this is interesting-it wasn't Drogon. It was
Veserion. This made absolutely no sense to me, and I'm starting to
become concerned for my mental well being. I am glad to be returning
to work tomorrow.
VII
This morning, I returned to work, but before I did, I ate three bowls
of cereal, two vegan sausages, a fruit salad, and toast. Then a bowl
of chili, some tortilla chips, and peasant bread. I drank a quart of
orange juice and then had some sorbet. I gained back three of the
eleven pounds I lost, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I
had 53 orgasms and a few of them were mind altering and enlightening
and all of them were entertaining. All in all, I am pleased with the
results of this diet, and I expect I will try it again the next time
I have time off work.
John S. Hall is a poet/spoken word artist, musician (if ukulele
counts), and singer-songwriter. He has released numerous recordings,
including nine albums with various incarnations of his band King
Missile. He is the author of a collection of poetry (Jesus Was Way
Cool) and a self-help parody (Daily Negations), both on Soft Skull
Press, and over 100 unpublished children’s stories. His most recent
releases may be found here <
https://dromedaryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/garden-variety-fuckers>
and here
<
https://silkcut.bandcamp.com/releases>. <
https://www.instagram.com/thesatanicchef/> <
https://www.instagram.com/thesatanicchef/>
Ingredients
3 pounds pumpkin - any variety
Cheap, cheap, cheap white wine
Olive oil
1 pound unsalted butter
7 spice (purchased at any Lebanese market)
Heavy cream
Salt, pepper
Red wine vinegar
2 Spanish onions
4 cloves of garlic
Vegetable stock
Chili Crisp, any variety
Instructions
Weigh out 3 pounds of pumpkin. Take the seeds out and scrape down the
insides. You do not need to skin the pumpkin.
Place the seeds in a bowl with some water, and separate the seeds
from the pumpkin guts. Save the seeds in a separate bowl.
Dry the seeds and toss with salt and pepper and roast at 370 degrees
for 12 min. You can alternatively deep fry the seeds at 350 degrees,
which I like better.
Cut the pumpkin into 5x5 inch strips, season with salt, pepper, olive
oil, and some 7 spice.
Put the pumpkin on a roasting rack so the oil drips down. Roast the
pumpkin strips in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until
tender.
Take the rack out and remove the pumpkin. After letting the pumpkin
cool, remove the skin from the pumpkin using a knife.
Take your roasting rack, heat it on a stove, and deglaze your
roasting rack with some white wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the
umami off the bottom of the pan. Make sure to cook out the alcohol
from the wine.
Next, slice your onions into super thin slices or use a sharp blade
or mandolin to julienne them.
Smash some garlic cloves with your hands. (They don’t have to be
chopped up.)
Next, heat a large stockpot on the stove. Put some olive oil and
about 3 tablespoons of butter in the bottom of the pot. Melt the
butter in the oil until the dairy fat is almost completely gone. The
oil and fat should be completely translucent at this point. Let the
butter start to brown.
As soon as that happens, put your onions and garlic into the pan with
a little pinch of salt.
Once these ingredients are translucent, add your pumpkin to the
mixture. Let these ingredients caramelize a bit. The fastest way to
do this is to just to slightly burn the bottom. Once it starts to
slightly brown, add your vegetable stock.
Simmer everything for about one hour.
After the hour is over, turn off the heat. Carefully strain the
contents while saving the liquid.
Cut up about ½ pound unsalted butter and keep cold. Keep your cream
cold, as well.
Place some of your pumpkin mixture into a blender in batches with a
dash of vinegar and salt, and throw in some cold butter and a little
bit of cream. Just about for every 2 cups of pumpkin, add about 1/4 a
cup of cream, 3 tablespoons butter, one tablespoon of vinegar, and 1
cup of hot broth. Puree this mixture until smooth.
Place your pumpkin soup in a bowl. Place a couple of drops of chili
crisp around the middle. Add your toasted pumpkin seeds and some
herbs for garnish.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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