MIAMI, Florida (AP) — U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is “a lie” and God and the nation’s founding fathers did not intend the country be “a nation of secular laws.”The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will “legislate sin,” including abortion and gay marriage.Harris made the comments — which she clarified Saturday — in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues.Separation of church and state is “a lie we have been told,” Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is “wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.”Electing non-Christians a ‘legislative sin’”If you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin,” Harris said.
This kind of religious bigotry sickens me. It just so happens that it’s coming from the person who put our president into office in the first place. Isn’t it funny how this kind of crap only fomes from religious Christians? Think “If you’re not with us, you’re against us”.I would like to personally and publicly challenge Ms. Harris to debate me on this issue. I dare you to face me, Ms. Harris, on your terms, for free, and time.
I have to concur with “alexatheist” once again. As a kid I could see there was little ‘motivation’ to urge us students to master the real academic subjects. We spent most of our time “screwing off”. Instead there appears now to be instituted more of the “Betty Crocker” (easy)course recently – which includes at the college level too.
The kids who are fairly smart are NOT being encouraged much to succeed by excelling in math or any of the sciences. In fact, the American attitude in NOT one that admires brilliant people and the fine scientists.
Now it’s got even worse -since the public schools (different from public schools in Britain) have regressed & are scarcely enforcing any *real* discipline code. Apparently this is partly the result of the new permisiveness recommended by Dr. Benjamin Spock.
Also the “no punishment” approach is much favored by the ‘mommies’ who don’t want to have their ‘sweet’ kids chastised. A guy who was on a different sorta-atheist site with me was a transplanted European and he said the same thing. Americans tend to be VERY poorly educated and proud of it. He was correct; I knew this was true long before he confirmed it.
I was in a “smart” club and if I quoted things from books I was accused of trying to “show off” or to make others feel inadequate by often naming things from books! The truth is – those ignorant jackasses did NOT read any informative* books! They read (if at all) only for funzies! They apparently assumed that because they were members of a “smart club” they did not need to “study”. WRONG.
The “crap” that they (we) Americans learn is basically only middle school jive (up to grade #
stuff. Both the other fellow and I (the only real atheists members on that site) were kicked off that site. That was done because we were Not Very Polite toward the numerous crap-head religious people who were haunting & homesteading that site.
reason,
?Being nuts? seems to be fairly evenly distributed among the genders. I prefer to think of myself as the almond sort of nuts?
phreedm,
An article a bit short on information, but I get the point. Yes, yes, it?s 2006 and such allegations should have been made in? well? 2004.
However, regardless of his poor timing, it?s not just Kerry- there has been a small but persistent movement in Ohio that continues to demand an investigation into the Ohio elections. As I mentioned above, there was a precinct near mine where more votes were recorded for Bush than total number of voters (an impossibility). There were numerous other cases filled alleging that voter rights were suspended in various ways. Is it all a giant conspiracy? (shrugs) I tend to be wary of conspiracy theories in general, but my wariness doesn?t mean there weren?t improprieties allowed by a man who was both the Chief Elections official of the state and co-chair of the Committee to re-elect Bush. It concerns me in the same way as when Diebold?s O?Dell made the comment that the company is “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president.” Not itself evidence of foul play. But? well? it just raises my wariness level to orange, at least.
Voting stuff aside, I?m not inclined to vote for Blackwell for a number of other reasons, including his absolute position on abortion. In an interview a few months ago, he was quoted as saying abortion should be banned with no exceptions, even if a woman?s life is at stake. He was also a big proponent of the state amendment to define marriage as a between a man and a woman. So yeah, Strickland will be getting my vote in November.
Voting stuff again: starting this election, absentee ballots will be available to all Ohio voters. This should make it easier for those who have to work or can?t make it to their voting place? or who just want to avoid the impossible lines (they were impossible).
aviaa that’s just nuts.
reason:
Hey, I’ve seen better-looking & less scary barflies in my day. Brrhhh!
Atomictesting:
No, it is the last one to pull the trigger that wins.
Which is why giving up your right to use technology for self defense is equivelant to suicide, and oppressing others right to use that technology is equivelant to murder. Long term anyway.
Democide
Hey, I can do hyperbole to make a point with the best of them.
Oh please! When will you bitter, sore losers get off it, MoveOn! and just admit that the better thief won? All they did is what the democrats do every election in Chicago, Hudson Co. NJ, and many other places.
If Harris thinks that this is a christian country because the founders were christian, ignoring for the moment that not all of them were, they were also all property owning males. And only property owning males could vote and hold office.
She is not male, therefore she should not be standing for election, let alone serving in an office of authority. So get off the ballot Harris, and back to the manor house where you can oversee the household servants and kitchen staff and leave the thinking to your husband.
reason,
Which kind? Cashews? Peanuts? Almonds? Mixed nuts? ;P
I had to think about this for a minute – but it finally suck in. Would it not have been better to say “the winner is the first to hit the target (and inhibit the opponent’s ability to respond)”?
This is so true.
If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.
on a serious note let us hope the voters will show her the door.
I don’t want to condemn her on her physical appearance. This always seems to me an unfair burden on women in the public eye. And I like many, men and women, don’t care for the way I am often judged by appearances.
But like Ann Coulter, its her words that make her repulsive to me.
Sorry I dissappeared there! Yeah I can be rough over here at times, but it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Actully, thinking about it, I shouldn’t have said I was a Catholic, i’ll be expecting a man with a balaclava at my door anytime soon!
I didn’t receive a ballot in the election for God. Was that one rigged too?
InTheWoods — your point is well taken about there being many more Catholics than the few who practice intolerance. Problems arise, though, when the intolerant are priests, bishops, cardinals and popes. As for Alexatheist’s point about religious bloodshed in Ireland, my impression has been that the Catholic vs. Protestant problem in Ireland is rather tangled with the Irish vs. British problem, in which the latter were the imperialistic meddlers.
As a general comment — there’s a lot of equation in this thread between religious belief and mental illness. I’d be interested in how people make the distinction.
Well, let’s say you worked with a guy who believed he had an imaginary friend called…. say…. Lothar.
Lothar was always talking to him and telling him what to do, and one day Lothar appearently told him to beat up the office errand boy, or something equally criminal….
How long would Lothar-boy be working in that office ?
Not long… he’d be carted off to a rubber room before he could say “Lothar told me too !”
Well, the only difference between Lothar-boy, and your average zealous theist is that we all know God exists, and Lothar doesn’t… right …
wrong…
From an atheist point of view, Xtians, Muslims, et all are no more sane than my hypothetical Lothar-boy…
The behavior is the same, my hypotheticasl Lothar just doesn’t happen to have a popular following like the Ol’ Sky Daddy does.
From FugaziGrrl: “Lothar was always talking to him and telling him what to do, and one day Lothar appearently told him to beat up the office errand boy, or something equally criminal…. How long would Lothar-boy be working in that office ? Not long… he’d be carted off to a rubber room before he could say “Lothar told me too !”"
You’re clouding the issue — it isn’t a crime to believe in one’s ability to chat with a personal God. And if an atheist tries to beat up the office errand boy, the atheist will be hauled off as well.
“From an atheist point of view, Xtians, Muslims, et all are no more sane than my hypothetical Lothar-boy… The behavior is the same, my hypotheticasl Lothar just doesn’t happen to have a popular following like the Ol’ Sky Daddy does.”
Popular following? So from a Republican, Libertarian or Green Party “point of view,” are Democrats mentally ill? Are atheists mentally ill for not hearing the theistic voice so many others claim to hear?
Sorry — anti-theistic claims of mental illness just seem like a cheap shot to me. As much as I may disagree with most theists, I’ll grant that they have something valid to describe with respect to their religious feelings, and it would be a more useful goal to use language as a means of probing those feelings rather than dismissing them in a manner that is insulting both to theists and to people with diagnosed mental illnesses.
JP:
“Popular following? So from a Republican, Libertarian or Green Party “point of view,” are Democrats mentally ill? Are atheists mentally ill for not hearing the theistic voice so many others claim to hear?”
How is comparing belief in ? and interaction with ? the supernatural with mental illness equate to comparing the philosophical differences between Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, etc., etc. with mental illness? One?s values are not a form of mental illness (in most cases). Where as one?s beliefs (such as believing a pink rabbit is telling you to kill your parents) can be considered a mental illness.
“Are atheists mentally ill for not hearing the theistic voice so many others claim to hear?”
I?m confused regarding this point. You?ve acknowledge that many religious individuals hear the voices of their particular deities (which is a symptom of schizophrenia ? a mental illness) and then go on to say you don?t consider those individuals mentally ill?
Many Christians, for example, believe they have had direct interaction with their zombie God, Jesus. If you were to replace the word “Jesus” and insert “Maltor”, you wouldn?t describe them as being religious, you?d likely say they were schizophrenic.
Why would you not describe someone who believes in a supernatural being that directly influences their life and all things in the universe, whom they often speak to on a regular basis in order to invoke that being?s powers, as a form of mental illness? Is it just because the majority of people on earth believe such things? If that is the reason, then you?re right…atheists are mentally ill.
Sorry for not being PC, but I have difficulty in seeing the distinction between mental illness and religious beliefs.
Dvan:
How interesting you should bring that up:
http://biblioblography.blogspot.com/2006/09/id-gone-wild-we-all-hear-voices_05.html
I forgive you. Hehehehe.
If a large enough majority indulge in a practice, then it’s not really a deviation from the norm.
Mind you, not a big fan of the argument ad numerum: the majority don’t decide what’s right, they decide what’s acceptable.
KA,
Read your great blog entry.
I can’t say I’ve ever heard voices, personally. But, I’ll certainly be listening : )
Dvan:
Sure you have. We all have. It’s called thinking.
A voice doesn’t need to be audible, does it?
I suppose I was speaking of only the audible kind.
You know, the kind that make you turn to the person sitting next to you and ask: “Do the voices in my head bother you?”
Rip off alert: I got that from the movie “The Gods must be crazy”, though I did change a word or two : )