When trying to visit the Washington Post’s website, I mistakenly typed www.washingtonpast.com. This directed me to a psycho-christian anti-abortion site. Among the many fucked up items on the site is a picture of the burning WTC next to a picture of an aborted fetus. The caption says “America: Can you connect the dots? ‘Because you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed is pursuing you‘. Eze 35:6″

Wow.

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I’ve been noticing that the mouthpieces of Bush’s God have changed their tune in the last year. It used to be, “Oh, X doesn’t violate the separation of church and state” — e.g., the “under God” in the pledge doesn’t, because it’s really not religious. Now that they’ve had their way and continue to march forward, that’s not working so well, though — the current stuff (like the House Resolution below) is so clearly and unequivocally religious that such a line would be ludicrous (even more than before). So now, they do the “Separation? There never was no steenkin’ separation!” line instead. Lots of “we used to do this shit, so don’t whine about it now”. After all, the House Resolution itself is full of that. It’s a scary idea: The old shitty argument has been replaced by a new, even shittier argument, because they need to go farther than the old shitty argument would take them.

Garry Wills has a pretty nice piece in the NYTimes today (“With God on His Side”) which quotes Twain’s “War Prayer” too. (Maybe that’s what reminded you of it?) The Wills piece is worth a read, although the Twain is the best thing in it.

Many of you have probably seen this before, but it is especially appropriate now during Bush’s Crusade. Mark Twain’s “The War Prayer” nicely summarizes what the religious hawks will be asking for on their special day of prayer:

“O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.”

Here’s an interesting little link on some Victims of the Christian Faith. (Not what I would call a formal historical document or anything, but still worth a look.)

Holy shit, so to speak. You really gotta read the House Resolution. Fucking amazing:

House Resolution 153

In the House of Representatives, U.S., March 27, 2003.

Whereas the United States is currently engaged in a war on terrorism in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001;

Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States are currently engaged in a campaign to disarm the regime of Saddam Hussein and liberate the people of Iraq;

Whereas, on June 1, 1774, the Virginia House of Burgesses called for a day of fasting and prayer as an expression of solidarity with the people of Boston who were under siege by the enemy;

Whereas, on March 16, 1776, the Continental Congress, recognizing that the `Liberties of America are imminently endangered’ and the need `to acknowledge the overruling Providence of God’, called for a day of `Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer’;

Whereas, on June 28, 1787, during the debate of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin, convinced of God’s intimate involvement in human affairs, implored the Congress to seek the assistance of Heaven in all its dealings;

Whereas, on March 30, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, at the bequest of the Senate, and himself recognizing the need of the Nation to humble itself before God in repentance for its national sins, proclaimed a day of fasting, prayer and humiliation;

Whereas all of the various faiths of the people of the United States have recognized, in our religious traditions, the need for fasting and humble supplication before Providence;

Whereas humility, fasting, and prayer in times of danger have long been rooted in our essential national convictions and have been a means of producing unity and solidarity among all the diverse people of this Nation as well as procuring the enduring grace and benevolence of God;

Whereas, through prayer, fasting, and self-reflection, we may better recognize our own faults and shortcomings and submit to the wisdom and love of God in order that we may have guidance and strength in those daily actions and decisions we must take; and

Whereas dangers and threats to our Nation persist and, in this time of peril, it is appropriate that the people of the United States, leaders and citizens alike, seek guidance, strength, and resolve through prayer and fasting: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should issue a proclamation–
1. designating a day for humility, prayer, and fasting for all people of the United States; and
2. calling on all people of the United States–
   (A) to observe the day as a time of prayer and fasting;
   (B) to seek guidance from God to achieve a greater understanding of our own failings and to learn how we can do better in our everyday activities; and
   (C) to gain resolve in meeting the challenges that confront our Nation.

The House of Representatives passed a resolution requesting that the President designate a special day of prayer. “The resolution recognized ‘the public need for fasting and prayer in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the United States and our armed forces.’” We shouldn’t be surprised about the call to prayer — but fasting?! (“House Calls for a Day of Prayer on War”)pantyhose sex moviesporn movies free ass forcdgirls moviefree porn movies hentai animeloews movie theaterwhite chicks movie thecdgirls moviedvd software movie copy Map

Sorry for the length…

Pledge writer had it right

March 21, 2003

Charles A. Freitag (letters, March 9), has it wrong. As senior citizens, my wife and I remember vividly saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school without the phrase �under God.�

In 1892, Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance for the magazine Youth�s Companion. He was a deeply religious man and a strong believer in the strict separation of church and state. He opposed parochial schools because he believed that the state should educate all of our children. He intended that the Pledge of Allegiance would be a unifying statement for all children regardless of religion.

In 1954, Congress added the phrase �under God� to the Pledge of Allegiance in an attempt to distinguish U.S. politics from Communism. Like so many other changes made by Congress for political reasons, the change further divided our nation rather than unifying it.

Bellamy had it right: A Pledge of Allegiance that does not include God as a requirement invites all Americans to participate in patriotism.

Incidentally, President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, opposed the use of �In God We Trust� on coins as a serious violation of the American tradition of separation of church and state.

�Roy A. Ockert Sr.
Salem