Category: Entanglement - Page 32

November 2, 2011

The Latin Cross Is Still Christian – Drives Justice Thomas Insane

A private non-profit association in Utah, the Utah Highway Patrol Association (UHPA), had been placing 12 foot tall white Latin crosses along roads and highways controlled by the state. The Utah Highway Patrol allowed the UHPA to use the trademark logo of the patrol as well. American Atheists filed suit in 2005 on 1st Amendment grounds and then on 10/31/2011 the US Supreme Court refused to hear the case leaving intact the ruling that the placement of crosses was unconstitutional. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ head exploded.

This again was an effort of religious right groups to make the Latin Cross generic which is the only way it might have made them constitutional.

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October 30, 2011

President Obama Rejects Citizen Petition To Remove ‘Under God’ From The Pledge

Joshua DuBois, Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, responded to two recent citizen petitions asking that ‘In God We Trust’ be removed from the currency and ‘Under God’ be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. As I expected, DuBois makes a long reach to justify rejecting the petitions.

One recent method of citizen engagement that the Obama administration is trying is called “We the People” that harkens back to the Declaration of Independence and our current right to petition government for redress of grievances. The White House set up a website for people to create petitions on issues and the administration promised to respond if the petition got a certain number of “signatures”.

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October 19, 2011

Seems Rick Santorum Supports Quiverfull

In recent public statements, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who is so far right he comes back upon his own tail, made comments that shows he probably supports the evangelical Christian Quiverfull movement. That is just one more thing that should prevent Santorum from serving as an elected official – even as a dog catcher.

Quiverfull is:

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October 10, 2011

Government’s Argument In Church-School Discrimination Case Shocks Supreme Court

Back in July I posted about a discrimination case involving a fired teacher at a church school in Redford Township, Michigan. She was fired after a long medical leave. The case was heard by the US Supreme Court on Wednesday October 5th. Instead of trying to argue under the religious clauses of the 1st amendment, the government is using an argument under the freedom of association clause. That choice seemed to shock the justices. I think it is brilliant – if it works.

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October 9, 2011

Dangerous Right Wing Republican Stupidity At The Value Voters Summit

This weekend was the annual meeting of the religious right wing of the Republican party at the so-called Value Voters Summit. The name of the event is similar to other ironic names associated with cheap-labor conservatives like “Defense of Marriage Act” and “Clear Skies Act of 2003“. Being it’s election season, the current crop of GOP candidates show up to kiss the ring of the Family Research Council and they say some really stupid crap.

Newt Gingrich would ignore court rulings he didn’t agree with:

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September 13, 2011

Federal Court to Decide on Oklahoma Sharia Ban

Image of a generic angry mob
Supporters of Sharia Law banIn the 2010 general election, voters in Oklahoma passed a ballot measure that attempts to ban Oklahoma courts from considering Islamic laws in the their decisions. The law was blocked when the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and ACLU sued. They claim the law violates the 1st amendment of the US Constitution, the Oklahoma Constitution, and the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act. This story shows that those who support the ban have a bigoted idea of Sharia law and have little knowledge of what our civil rights actually are.

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