Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
"Honest, officer - I just didn't want to get my priest's robes all sweaty."
And here I thought lying was breaking the Commandments:
Naked Jogging Priest Found Guilty Of Indecent Exposure
GREELEY, Colo. -- A Roman Catholic priest who said he was jogging naked during the predawn hours because he didn't want to sweat in his clothes was found guilty Thursday of indecent exposure.
The Rev. Robert Whipkey, 53, was found guilty by a Weld County jury and will be sentenced in August. He faces up to 18 months in jail and could be ordered to register as a sex offender.
* * *
Whipkey was arrested last June in Frederick, about 25 miles north of Denver, after an officer saw him walking naked on a street at 4:35 a.m.
* * *
An officer going home from his shift saw Whipkey walking naked in the street. Whipkey told him he had been running naked at the track at Frederick High School and didn't think anyone would be around that time of day.
Uh-huh. Sure.
Personally, I have no problem with skin. Everybody has it, and in truth the variations really don't amount to much. But societal convention, and law, says that you're supposed to be wearing some minimal amount of clothing under normal conditions. I don't think that is too difficult to comply with. But maybe that's why I'm not a priest - I just don't understand these things the 'right' way.
Jim Downey
(Hat tip to ML for the link!)
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He could have at least worn
He could have at least worn some underwear!
[from the Denver Channel
It sounds like the Judge is not going to focus on the priest aspect but it does look like this priest does have a certain affinity for nudity. The shaving naked at a boys' camp one is a little troubling.
Bwuh?
Walking naked around his home? This is a crime? Or worthy of being admitted as evidence?
And though I couldn't find much more detail on the shaving thing, the first thing that popped into my head was that the camp may have had communal showers wherein the priest was 'caught' shaving nude. Dunno. But an older article indicates that there was no sexual contact and no laws were broken.
Seems like the judge is allowing the 'scales of justice' to be weighted down in favor of conviction.
...of course I am not privy to the details of the case so what do I know?
Hopefully, the judge will have a little common sense
Like Jim says, it's not hard to comply with rules, laws, and regulations, so when we don't we should be punished. But the punishment should fit the crime. Jogging naked at 4:35 a.m. doesn't warrant 18 months in jail and registering as a sex offender. The judge will have some leeway, and what the guy could face is almost definitely not what he will wind up doing.
Still, because he's a Priest, and Catholic Priests are in the news for so many other things, he may well be singled out and made an example of. The judge may fear that, if he goes as light on him as he would an average Joe, people will think he's pandering to Catholics, or going easy on them damn pedophiles. The prosecutor may go for a stiffer penalty for the same reason, especially if he's thinking of running for some office.
Let's hope the old guy gets a just punishment (which, to my mind, would be a slap on the wrist, a stern warning to not get caught doing it again, and sent on his way).
Rob Miles
--
There are only 10 types of people in the world;
those who understand binary and those who don't.
Now wait a second!
Hey, wait a second there! He's 53, according to the news report. I turn 50 in a couple of weeks - 53 is *NOT* old!!!
Damned whippersnappers!
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read *or listen to* my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
I never thought it would happen...
but here I am, about to defend a catholic priest on a sex
issue.
When it was discovered that buggery was regular business in many catholic churches, I thought that every catholic church should have been investigated, since they are all related institutions, and cooperate with each other to some extent. If it was discovered that 10% of McDonalds franchises were intentionally poisoning customers with help from the corporate office, wouldn't the public want a full investigation? But no, it's religion, so we can't have reasonable expectations. But it is totally normal to take this one fellow's relatively harmless shenanigans and paint him as a pervert.
I realize that society has many bullshit standards, and ill-conceived laws. But 18 months jail and registered sex offender status? Chase down the baby rapers, please, before crucifying some old fart because he likes the breeze on his balls.
At that time of morning, the only people around to be offended are bored, unnecessary policemen. The law is reactionary, paranoid, and just plain stupid, as is often the case. If nobody but policemen were offended, where is the crime? Only in our imaginations.
I've never understood the big deal about nudity. I grew up in a semi-rural area, and now live near the beach. I can't count the number of times I've broken this particular law, often with other (consenting) people involved. Naked beach runs, pissing in public, streaking on a double-dog dare, sex under the bleachers, sex on the pier, mooning people...heh...in high school, I had a friend with a car, and we would take turns mooning an entire bus of fellow students as we passed it on the road, with the occasional fruitbasket thrown in for good measure.
Hell, I once saw a normal looking, well-dressed young man drop trou and take a shit on the sidewalk of Franklin Ave. in Hollywood in broad daylight. It was nasty as fuck, but I still wouldn't want to see him do 18 months and be classified with rapists and child molesters.
So some old fart who is repressed enough to be not only a catholic, but a catholic priest, decided to get a little wind on his willy. I say good for him. He might actually be on the road to becoming a normal, healthy human, God forbid.
Wait... being naked makes you a sex offender?
I mean, there didn't seem to be any sexual purpose to his jogging naked - 53 is old enough for early Alzheimer's or maybe he's just a bit eccentric. Did he assault anyone? Or is it just a matter that he's been naked before and he might be naked again?
I'm shocked!
Priest caught naked at a school! In other news, a dog bit a man, the sun rose in the east, and Bush lied while mangling a sentence.