Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
2010-04-24 15:40:21 UTC
- - -
Religious sympathizers, so insecure in their
belief in magic beings and magic places,
continually seek to imbue their favorite magic
being with acclaim by trying to combine sup-
port for it and belief in it with government
activity.
Obama, due in large part to the success of
the Republicans in combining religion with
politics to gain political power, has likewise
dabbled in religious tap-dancing to try to
prop up religious notions of worship and
prayer and "religion as good" regardless
of how much harm results from religious
faith.
Obama, as much as I admire him for his
progressive stances on many issues, his
anti-intellectual attempt to garner favor
from religious sympathizers is a sad com-
mentary on how leaders are tempted to
play the religion card for political gain
regardless of the anti-humanism which
is deeply embedded in all major religious
faiths, and regardless of the absolute and
total futility of depending on magic beings
for anything.
Oh sure, when it comes to seductions and
threats, religion has been invested with
a vast amount of treasure and blind faith,
but it is *not* the role of government to
in any way, shape, or form, support or
prop up that role, or those notions, all due
disrespect to Obama's and Bush's efforts
to do so.
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April 23, 2010
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/04/23/obama_will_appeal_day_of_prayer_ruling/
- - -
Excerpt:
The Obama administration said yesterday
it will appeal a court decision that found
the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.
US District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison
ruled last week the National Day of Prayer
that Congress established 58 years ago
amounts to a call for religious action.
The Justice Department said it will challenge
the decision in the US Court of Appeals for
the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. The notice
came after about two dozen members of
Congress condemned the ruling and pressed
for an appeal.
The case was brought by the Freedom From
Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group
of atheists and agnostics who argue the
National Day of Prayer violates the separation
of church and state. Its co-president Annie
Laurie Gaylor said she was disappointed in
the decision to appeal.
"I would have expected something better
from a legal scholar,'' she said, referring to
President Obama's background as a law
professor.
Her group planned to launch an online peti-
tion praising Crabb's decision and asking
Obama, the principal defendant in the law-
suit, to "leave days of prayer to individuals,
private groups and churches, synagogues,
mosques and temples.''
The administration had argued the law sim-
ply acknowledges the role of religion in the
United States.
Congress established the day in 1952 and
in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the
day for presidents to issue proclamations
asking Americans to pray. An Obama spokes-
man has said the president plans to issue a
proclamation for the upcoming prayer day,
May 6. Many other state and local officials
typically follow suit.
The Justice Department signaled it would
appeal not only Crabb's decision on the
merits of the case but also her ruling last
month that the defendants had the standing
to bring the lawsuit in the first place.
...
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€ - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - €
~~~
Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
http://prohuman.net
(Freethinking Realist Exploring
Expressive Liberty, Openness,
Verity, Enlightenment, & Rationality)
~~~
Religious sympathizers, so insecure in their
belief in magic beings and magic places,
continually seek to imbue their favorite magic
being with acclaim by trying to combine sup-
port for it and belief in it with government
activity.
Obama, due in large part to the success of
the Republicans in combining religion with
politics to gain political power, has likewise
dabbled in religious tap-dancing to try to
prop up religious notions of worship and
prayer and "religion as good" regardless
of how much harm results from religious
faith.
Obama, as much as I admire him for his
progressive stances on many issues, his
anti-intellectual attempt to garner favor
from religious sympathizers is a sad com-
mentary on how leaders are tempted to
play the religion card for political gain
regardless of the anti-humanism which
is deeply embedded in all major religious
faiths, and regardless of the absolute and
total futility of depending on magic beings
for anything.
Oh sure, when it comes to seductions and
threats, religion has been invested with
a vast amount of treasure and blind faith,
but it is *not* the role of government to
in any way, shape, or form, support or
prop up that role, or those notions, all due
disrespect to Obama's and Bush's efforts
to do so.
- - -
April 23, 2010
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/04/23/obama_will_appeal_day_of_prayer_ruling/
- - -
Excerpt:
The Obama administration said yesterday
it will appeal a court decision that found
the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.
US District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison
ruled last week the National Day of Prayer
that Congress established 58 years ago
amounts to a call for religious action.
The Justice Department said it will challenge
the decision in the US Court of Appeals for
the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. The notice
came after about two dozen members of
Congress condemned the ruling and pressed
for an appeal.
The case was brought by the Freedom From
Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group
of atheists and agnostics who argue the
National Day of Prayer violates the separation
of church and state. Its co-president Annie
Laurie Gaylor said she was disappointed in
the decision to appeal.
"I would have expected something better
from a legal scholar,'' she said, referring to
President Obama's background as a law
professor.
Her group planned to launch an online peti-
tion praising Crabb's decision and asking
Obama, the principal defendant in the law-
suit, to "leave days of prayer to individuals,
private groups and churches, synagogues,
mosques and temples.''
The administration had argued the law sim-
ply acknowledges the role of religion in the
United States.
Congress established the day in 1952 and
in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the
day for presidents to issue proclamations
asking Americans to pray. An Obama spokes-
man has said the president plans to issue a
proclamation for the upcoming prayer day,
May 6. Many other state and local officials
typically follow suit.
The Justice Department signaled it would
appeal not only Crabb's decision on the
merits of the case but also her ruling last
month that the defendants had the standing
to bring the lawsuit in the first place.
...
- - - end excerpt - - -
- - -
€ - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - € - €
~~~
Pro-Humanist FREELOVER
http://prohuman.net
(Freethinking Realist Exploring
Expressive Liberty, Openness,
Verity, Enlightenment, & Rationality)
~~~