Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 04-06-2003, 10:16 PM

Critics Attack State Leaflet on AIDS Help and Religion

Quote:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is asking the Florida Department of Health to recall an AIDS information brochure that includes biblical references and tells people to "answer Jesus' call" by reaching out to people with H.I.V. and AIDS.

The brochure, "A Christian Response to AIDS," carries the department logo and includes quotations of Scripture and images of Jesus healing the sick. It refers to biblical passages for people seeking more information on "human suffering and its relationship to God."

The A.C.L.U. said the brochure was inappropriate for distribution by a public health agency and should be immediately recalled. The same brochure was recently distributed in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., but was removed from circulation because of similar complaints.

. . .

Last month, the Pennsylvania Department of Health removed the brochure from a list of educational pamphlets on its Web site, after an online state government news service asked about it. The department bought about 10,000 brochures in 2002 for $2,000 and distributed about 6,000 brochures, mostly in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

In 2001, the District of Columbia Department of Health distributed the brochure but stopped after AIDS activists accused the agency of using taxpayer money to promote religion. That department spent $380 for 1,000 copies.

Primordial Groove · 04-07-2003, 06:40 AM

un-f%$king-believable.

Why would they even try this, knowing it is a clear violation of CSS. They can also look to the 2 other states to know where this will end up.

Why even try? Are they determined to be the energizer bunny of tearing down CSS?

they keep trying and trying and trying...

MortalWombat · 04-07-2003, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Primordial Groove
would they even try this, knowing it is a clear violation of CSS. They can also look to the 2 other states to know where this will end up.

I get the impression that they are like little children who keep trying stuff to see how far they can get before they piss off their parents.

The Naked Mage · 04-08-2003, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Primordial Groove:

they keep trying and trying and trying...

<snort>

SanDiegoAtheist · 04-08-2003, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Primordial Groove
un-f%$king-believable.

Why would they even try this, knowing it is a clear violation of CSS. They can also look to the 2 other states to know where this will end up.

Why even try? Are they determined to be the energizer bunny of tearing down CSS?

they keep trying and trying and trying...

Sadly, because they are public officials, that means they keep wasting and wasting and wasting MY taxpayer dollars defending their actions in lawsuits which they have no chance of winning, given legal precedent.

I wonder if theres any way we could sue them for breach of public trust for doing this?

Or at least make mandatory a "Constitution Class" for any public official of any rank. I'm sick and tired of people who have obviously never read the constitution (or at least not with an eye towards comprehending it) being elected to office.

Cheers,

The San Diego Atheist

Alonzo Fyfe · 04-09-2003, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SanDiegoAtheist
Sadly, because they are public officials, that means they keep wasting and wasting and wasting MY taxpayer dollars defending their actions in lawsuits which they have no chance of winning, given legal precedent.

The strategy is a little more clever than this. Throw ten thousand lawsuits into the court system, and some of them will get through. Each one that gets through establishes precident for the next.

Look at how having "in God we trust" on the currency is now being used as a precident for acts and policies that would otherwise have been inconceivable. Now it is going up on government buildings all over the country. This, and the pledge ruling (once the Supreme Court says that the pledge violates no constitutional principle), will almost certainly be used a couple of decades from now to defend laws further based on the principle that only those who trust in or pledge allegiance to God are fit citizens.

And, all the while, our tax money is being used to fund the tens of thousands of lawsuits aiming to establish the precident necessary to fulfill this objective.

"Defeat your enemy, and have your enemy fund the operation."

It sounds a lot like President Bush's war policy. I wonder where he got the idea.

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04-07-2003, 06:40 AM	#2
Primordial Groove Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Earth Posts: 1,570	un-f%$king-believable. Why would they even try this, knowing it is a clear violation of CSS. They can also look to the 2 other states to know where this will end up. Why even try? Are they determined to be the energizer bunny of tearing down CSS? they keep trying and trying and trying...

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