Category: Politics - Page 66

February 15, 2006

Air Force backs down to religious conservatives

In August the Pentagon issued guidelines meant to protect religious liberty by discouraging public prayers at routine events and warned superior officers that personal expressions of faith could be misunderstood as official statements.

Religious conservatives organized a response and pressured the Pentagon to revise the guidelines. The new version was issued last week.

Proselytizing is not exercising your religious beliefs. Going to church or prayer is practicing your religion. Proselytizing is being a pain in the ass by telling someone, whether they want to hear it or not, about why they should join your church or religion.

Read the post

February 9, 2006

Science committee members pressure Ohio Board on Intelligent Design Lesson Plan

The Columbus Dispatch reported on 2/8/2006 that Governor Taft was sent a letter signed by members of an advisory committee that had reviewed the school science standards in 2001. The letter asked the Governor to step in and force the Board to remove the controversial lesson plan adopted in 2004 that would allow the teaching of Intelligent Design.

Read the post

February 9, 2006

Mayor who supports public display of Nativity scene issues resolution honoring Darwin

HCCO sent letters to the mayors of several Central Ohio cities and asked for a proclamation recognizing February 12th as Darwin Day in their city. Mayors issue proclamations as way to give special recognition to various groups and ideas. It is common practice for a mayor to issue one in recognition of the National Day of Prayer.

One of the responses was a surprise.

Mayor Robert L. McPherson of Reynoldsburg, OH was the first mayor to declare Darwin Day.

Read the post

February 5, 2006

US not immune from Religious violence similar to Muhammad cartoon protests

If anyone wants to see what the US would look like if we don’t stop with the entanglement of religion and government need only look at what happened in Damascus, Syria on Saturday.

For the last week or so, Muslims around the world have been protesting the publishing of some cartoons depicting their prophet Muhammad. Some the images looked silly and some expressed a view of Muslims as terrorists by having Muhammad’s turban look like a bomb.

What does the violence in Syria over cartoons relate to the US. There have been times when the religious right in this country have gone past mere protest when their religious beliefs were offended.

Read the post

February 3, 2006

Governor Taft thinks there should be a legal review of Ohio Biology lesson plan

Lame duck Ohio Governor Bob Taft, obviously knowing he has nothing to protect, reversed course and called for a legal review of Ohio’s 10th-grade biology teaching standards in light of the recent Dover, PA ID court decision. He also plans to ask future state board appointees about their views on the issue of Intelligent Design.

Read the post

January 30, 2006

Terri Schiavo: Revisited

From the pages of “Duh!” magazine (really an AP article) comes a report where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who happens to be a medical doctor, admits that the American people thought he was wrong when he called for more examination of Terri Schiavo, the woman who died in March after a long court case. Congress’ involvement in what was a state case was unprecedented and stemmed from the influence of religious conservatives. In the Christian religion, ending ones life is considered a sin and religious conservatives went insane when the Schiavo case came up. Religious conservatives do that a lot. They want to maintain a life at all costs, ignoring reality, and this case ignoring medical professionals. Schiavo wasn’t alive when she died. She was just a breathing bag of goo assisted with a feeding tube.

Read the post