Never Enough Insane Child Custody Cases Department

I've known Rachel Bevilacqua ever since she and I attended our first SubGenius X-Day event, way back in 1997. In all that time I've known her, she's always struck me as a very sweet woman and a good friend, with clear-cut ideas of propriety and motherhood, and how NOT to let her SubGenius performance art interfere with that. Therefore, you might imagine I'd be more than a little dismayed to get a call from her recently, letting us know that a judge has stripped her of custody of her child, Kohl.

This is not the first time that SubGenius has been used as ammo in an ugly custody battle, especially when a conservative judge has been involved. In this case, however, the situation has been taken way out of context, and it certainly does not help that her ex claimed falsely that he could not reach her and that he considered her a kidnapping risk. Nor does it help that the judge's reaction was so extreme. However, given that the Church's most important rule is, "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke," and that our own holy texts have the word "LIES" on practically every page, it's somewhat hard to believe that some people will take what we do that seriously. But obviously they do, and Rachel needs your help. If you can make a donation to her legal defense fund, that would be deeply appreciated; donation links are available at both Rachel's blog and on the SubGenius page linked above. And no, I can personally verify that this is not a scam, despite what some might suspect.

More details can be found at Bartholomew's notes on religion, as well as at Rev. Ivan Stang's personal blog. A "funny" take on the situation can be found--where else?--at Jesus' General, where they have been making the unfunny "funny" for years. The situation is also mentioned on Boing Boing. It looks like news of this story is getting out there, but please help spread the word. Thanks.

Rachel and Kohl, you're in our thoughts, and we hope you two are reunited soon.