OBAMA, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGED TO BOYCOTT THURSDAY PRAYER BREAKFAST
An Atheist public policy group today joined the call for President Obama and key members of the U.S. Congress not to attend Thursday’s 2010 National Prayer Breakfast.
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists said his group is joining with other organizations in protesting the event hosted by the shadowy “Fellowship Foundation.” According to investigative journalist Jeff Sharlet, author of “The Family: The Secret American Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power,” the Foundation spends nearly $1 million per year staging the prayer event. It also operates the notorious “House on C-Street” which has been linked to a number of political scandals and other alleged improprieties. (Mr. Sharlet will be a speaker at this year’s 36th National Convention of American Atheists.)
“We’re urging President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, and other key political figures to boycott the event,” said Buckner. “The Family’ is a secret manipulative group that some are describing as a ‘cult’ which tries to conceal its political influence, financial holdings and public policy initiatives. Our President, who has championed transparency and openness in government, should avoid participating and endorsing events staged by this ‘religious lobby.’ ”
Dave Silverman, Vice President and Communications Director for American Atheists, noted that the “Family” is behind a Uganda initiative which would mandate the death penalty for homosexuals.
“The Foundation is behind a mean-spirited, authoritarian political agenda that promotes religious — and specifically Christian supremacy. Our political leaders took an oath to support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, not a rigid and punitive version of the Old Testament.”
Mr. Silverman added that even if another group sponsored the prayer breakfast, political leaders should be careful about participating in public, sectarian religious events.
“President Obama and members of Congress have every right to be religious,” said Silverman. “But we want them to uphold the First Amendment separation of church and state and avoid the appearance of officially endorsing a particular religion or religion in general.”
Good Luck…every sitting president since 1953 has attended the National Prayer Breakfast. Funny how the complaints about a president attending this event have only recently surfaced.
So let’s see, a “secretive group”, working for political connections, that spends a million dollars of their own money is at the heart of the event.
Mr. Ed, are the minutes from all of AA’s board meetings available for public viewing?
Mr. Ed, are you working towards political connections to advance AA’s agenda?
Mr. Ed, do you spend AA’s money when you throw your annual national “Easter” party?
Mr. Ed, is AA a “fundamentalist” non-religious organization with their own activists?
Hmmmm…exactly what’s the difference between AA and the “Fellowship Foundation”?
Say what you will phred, AA is at least not involved in political scandals like C street.
mxr…scandals? What scandals?
Tell me something…would a group that values their privacy be considered secretive to outsiders?
The adultery of its members and false tax status on the properties.
mxr…really? Are you sure they aren’t canary rumors? How about providing links PROVING your claims, instead of heresy?
Wow, for the first time I can remember, I actually agree with Silverman… If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a phony like Uh-bama who wouldn’t walk the walk if his mother’s life depended on it.
…i.e. “they can be as ‘religious’ as they want, but they better not show any signs of it in public…”
I thought believers were supposed to pray in private, and not in public like the hypocrites? Forgive me if I can’t remember the babble chapter & verse.
I would make the argument that someone acting as a gov representative not be religious in that capacity. IE, anytime in “public, which is any time they are outside of private doors.
Wow…mxr. Talk about hypocrisy. You just answered my question with your post…
mxracer652 says:
February 2, 2010 at 9:56 pm
I thought believers were supposed to pray in private, and not in public like the hypocrites?
How do you know these individuals simply cherish their privacy?
Speaking of Treaties…
FEBRUARY 2, 1848, the U.S. Congress ratified the peace treaty which
ended the Mexican War.
In exchange for 15 million dollars the territories of California,
Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming,
were brought into the Union.
The treaty stated:
“In the Name of Almighty God-
the United States and the United Mexican States animated by a sincere
desire to put an end to the calamities of the war….have, under the
protection of Almighty God, the Author of Peace, arranged, agreed
upon, and signed the following Treaty of Peace.”
Which god are we talking about again?
Well one things for sure…mxr has never really studied the bible…
MX, I’ve gotten quite used to hearing that same sort of circular “reasoning” in the military:
- “You don’t believe in god??? Then you should stop using money because HE’S on it!” (All of my cash says “IN FSM WE TRUST”)
- “You don’t believe in god??? So you refuse to say the pledge of allegiance?” (When it’s been part of a ceremony, I recite the 1942 pre-Langmack version of the pledge)
- “It’s tradition to have an invocation and benediction in our mandatory military ceremonies. Can’t you just ‘not listen’ when they pray?” (I’d like to see that court martial defense: “Yes sir, I did order my subordinates to stand in formation in front of me when I made those sexist/racist/bigoted comments, but they could have simply not listened.”)
You get a faith-tard or two in positions of authority, and they start slinging their disease around, insisting they be allowed to infect currency, pledges, treaties, laws, etc., and then they attempt to use those diseased instruments to further spread the contagion, and to deny others any form of prophylaxis (and childhood inoculation, if they had their way).
I’d prefer to see the disease treated; but sometimes you have to isolate and quarantine the vector. Though, simply ignoring them can be sufficient.
So, let me get this straight:
Somehow, the treaty of Tripoli doesn’t count because it says that America is in no way a Christian nation, but the ones you mention that DO say it, DO count?
Double standard duly noted, phretard.
KA…if you spent half as much time actually studying American History as you do copying and pasting from your favorite atheist site, you’d understand the one and only piece of paper from early American History that so many of you cling to as your own gospel.
The truth is out there…but we all know your agenda is more important.
Yeah – I don’t do that. I deal in hard facts.
Standard fare for the losing side of the debate – pretend the other side has no comprehension.
Sad.
KA…you have no comprehension. It’s clear by your responses. You clearly take the opinions of others as truth without doing your own DD.
You do not read the entire treaty in context, nor have you read the other 3 treaties written during the Barbary Wars.
You obviously don’t know WHY the treaty was required.
Nor do you understand the original intent of the Federal Government and religion. You’ve most likely never read each state constitution nor the actual notes, board minutes or diaries from those in attendance.
Tell you what…I’ll debate you one on one at this years National Atheist Convention.
Now do tell us what excuses you’ll come up with not to take the challenge…?
So now phreddy phlintstone is a telepath? Or is he just suffering from Alzheimer? More disputable lies. The treaty of Tripoli is by far closer chronologically to that warped version of ‘original intent’ than anything you’ve ever brought up. It’s also signed by some of the founders. & I can bet good $ that Barton got all of his revisionism wrong.
& no, I take no opinions from others. Do you never tire of being wrong all the time?
KA…your answers simply prove my point.
I’m hereby ignoring your lies & efforts to assassinate my character, gramps.
Gramps? Hmmm…did we just witness some of that superior atheist moral standard by you making a disparaging comment about senior citizens?
So when we (the USA) say “in the name of almighty god” it counts, but when Hitler says “Got mit uns” it was just a tool to drive the common man?
phreedm,jcc
What are you guys drinking there can be no doubt by now that Obama is a believer.I guess god was on our side in the mexican war cause we got 800,000 square miles for whipping mexico.
Well done, AA keep the heat on.
phreedm,jcc don’t you guys see that people who attend things like national prayer breakfast are phonies who use religion to cover their immoral and unpatriotic conduct.
reason…are you claiming that EVERYONE who attends the breakfast is a phony using religion to cover their immoral and their unpatriotic (this needs more of an explanation) conduct?
You know Obama hasn’t attended church once since he’s been in Washington. I for one would never claim to know if someone is a believer or not. IMO, even atheists are not 100% sure about their own beliefs if we were allowed to explore their deepest thoughts…
phreedm
yeah i think most if not all attendees are phonies.As for immoral and unpatriotic conduct well you know as well as i do a hundred yrs ago the bums in Washington would have been called out for a duel.Conduct[immoral], [unpatriotic] helping in destroying the economy and unenforced immigration laws.
I didn’t vote for obama i think he is a disaster for the country but i take him at his word that he believes in some kind of god.Are any of us sure about our own beliefs.
Yes.
reason…I agree. One hundred years or so ago they would have been called out. Ah the good old days…
You did make a profound admission though, that at least you’re honest enough to admit…
I agree. None of us are. Exactly why I have always said, that there is no such thing as a true atheist…nor is there such a thing as a true Christian, except One…
Take that JCC, unless you meant you’re “the One.”
phreedm,jcc
today 67 yrs ago German[nazi] troops after a heroic struggle gave in at stalingrad to equally heroic Soviet troops.Was this a victory for good or evil?
Great question…define good and evil first. According to an atheist’s point of view.
Phreedm
I define good as the saving of innocent life for example and evil as the taking of innocent life.Slavery is another example of evil in my view.Now i know you will bring up abortion and yes i think it is evil but i also think in many cases it is the lesser evil.That is why i favor keeping abortion legal but working hard to prevent unwanted pregancies from happening in the first place.
It was the victory of one evil regime over another evil regime.
Uganda with the urging of “The Family” is still planning to kill gays, or at the very least, imprison gays for life for the crime of being gay. The president should boycott the breakfast on this point alone.
Alex…do you have a link proving this claim?
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/02/01/The_Family_Cooks_Up_National_Prayer_Breakfast/
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/sexandgender/2250/religious_leaders_urge_obama_to_condemn_ugandan_anti-gay_bill_at_prayer_breakfast/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd-lPqaKzfA
Alex…did you read the interview on NPR? Lots of assumptions. Basically he’s condemning over association. A very weak argument. Furthermore, Sharlet is clearly opposed to those who don’t agree with abortion or free trade policies.
Sharlet is nothing more then a left wing radical trying to make a name for himself.
He provides no proof “The Family” is behind the bill discussed in Uganda.
thank you AA and David Silerman
Get out of our governing with your silliness stupid religion
Obama created a lot of hope in non-believers when he threw that crusty biscuit acknowledging them. Unfortunately it was all politics folks. If he attends this prayer breakfast, that too, is only politics. Those religious cults have a heapo money, and for the politician, money always has his/her ear.
Quote “Our President, who has championed transparency and openness in government, …”
LOL! That’s funny.
Stole this from dw’s site. (Yes, I should take my own advice.)
