Posts Tagged politics
Federal Judge Rules National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 16th, 2010
(CNN) — A federal judge on Thursday struck down the federal statute that established the National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion.
“[I]ts sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function,” a Wisconsin judge wrote in the ruling, referring to the 1952 law that created the National Day of Prayer.
“In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience,” wrote the judge, Barbara B. Crabb.
So, in the time it took for me to (almost) finish my taxes, the story changes from the silly email rumor that President Obama has canceled the National Day of Prayer to a federal court ruling that declares the 1952 National Day of Prayer statute unconstitutional!
Now, nothing is actually going to happen between now and May 6th since the statute will stand until all avenues of appeal are exhausted, and President Obama has already stated that he will be issuing the proclamation on scheduled, but this is going to drive the conservative Christians to apoplexy nonetheless.
Should be fun.
Obama Cancels National Day of Prayer?
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 15th, 2010
Er, actually no he didn’t. Despite what the conservative Christian hysteria machine would have you believe, on May 6th, the National Day of Prayer will be recognized by President Obama by issuing a proclamation just as all his predecessors have done since its inauguration in 1952.
All Obama has done is decided against holding a prayer service in the White House on that day, an event was only started under the last president as a rather empty political gesture to his evangelical Christian constituency. And, by the way, he didn’t hold an NDP service in the White House last year either, so it’s not like this should be shocking news to anyone.
That decision President Obama made last year made Shirley Dobson cry:
Naturally, prominent evangelicals, including National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson, and her husband, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, expressed disappointment in Obama’s decision.
“At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer,” Shirley Dobson said in a statement.
I suspect that in the three weeks between now and May 6th, the outrage of the religious right will serve to prove that the President did the right thing by returning to the usual practice of just issuing a proclamation. Thanks mostly to the efforts of Dobson’s sectarian NDP Task Force, the day, and the celebration of the day had become little more than a political football in the hands of the religious right.
Conservative Christians everywhere will be able to pray to their heart’s content on May 6th (or any other day), whether or not the current president panders to their wishes.
Update: Corrected post to reflect that Dobson’s quote was actually made before last year’s NDP.
Praying for President Obama, the “Right” Way
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 12th, 2010
“Religion and politics don’t mix” so the old saying goes, but it can be very entertaining (or downright scary) when you decide to mix a little religion with far right-wing politics. And where better to find examples of that than the Free Republic web site, home of the lunatics in the lunatic fringe.
One of their long time contributors used to start a daily thread called “Pray for President Bush.” A laudable endeavor, if you happen to be religiously minded, and the prayers he invoked were certainly uplifting enough:
Summing Up The American Judicial System
Posted by Rational Dreamer in random thoughts on May 22nd, 2009
Just saw this in the comments section of another blog:
“If a conservative is a liberal who’s just been mugged, then a liberal is a conservative who’s just been arrested.”
Orson Scott Card Joins the National Organization for Marriage
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics on April 22nd, 2009
Well that’s the final nail in the coffin. I remember discovering Card’s famous first novel, Ender’s Game, and being completely taken with it. On the strength of that and his other early efforts, I read all five books of his Homecoming Saga, the first few books of The Tales of Alvin Maker, and the sequels to Ender’s Game. I knew nothing of his religious or politics views, and since they didn’t seem to be influencing the quality or tone of his writing, I had no interest in finding out what they were.
But, as seems to happen with all too many authors, when they get a wee bit famous, they start injecting all kinds of personal views and prejudices into their stories. I guess they feel that they have earned that right, and I suspect that editors tend to have less control over the content and tenor of their prized authors’ later novels.
The Bias of Reality
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics on April 17th, 2009
“Reality has a well known liberal bias.”
So sayeth the sharp-witted political wit, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert.
It is probably the most famous quotation to come out of his brilliant show, The Colbert Report, and it has the merit not only of being funny, but of having a large ring of truth about (or should I say “truthiness”?) too, at least it does in America.
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