atheist_in_foxhole

The platform approved this week by the Texas Republican Party includes the following:

• A declaration that the United States is a Christian nation
• Support for posting the Ten Commandments on public property
• Support for the teaching of "creation science" in public schools
• Opposition to the "myth" of church/state separation

<a href="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/1445856" target="_blank">Article</a>

atheist_in_foxhole

Here's an excerpt from another article on the subject:

<a href="http://www.austin360.com/auto_docs/epaper/editions/sunday/metro_state_3.html" target="_blank">Article</a>

What a bunch of freaks.

Mageth

That sh*t scares the hell out of me.

Gramm's diatribe against the democratic candidates' debate in Spanish is ridiculous. He accuses the dems of attempting to split the state on ethnic lines, but it's bigoted crap like he's spouting that's divisive. At least his diatribe might scare away some minorities who might have been considering the Republican party.

David Barton, the state party's vice chairman, said "Providence punishes national sins with national calamities." Pure Falwellian poison.

"He also noted that, "We believed 200 years ago in America that you should never hold a law degree until you first held a seminary degree, because how can you handle the laws of men if you first don't know the laws of God?" "

Fortunately, at least some of us have managed to rise out of the dark ages...

Toto

David Barton is a common name, but that is in fact the David Barton of <a href="http://www.wallbuilders.com/aboutus/bio/" target="_blank">Wallbuilders</a>.

<a href="http://www.tfn.org/religiousright/profiles/wallbuilders.htm" target="_blank">David Barton: Myth (and Mischief) Maker</a>

Starspun

The myth of church-state seperation?
<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />
The United States is an xtian nation?
<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />
Ten Commandments?
<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />
WHen will the nonsense end???
<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

Toto

When you Texans start electing liberals to public office. Having the Texas Republican party dominated by the extreme right is a good place to start. Having a big Texas Republican imply that speaking Spanish is treason should help too. It might undo all of Dubya's efforts to pretend that Hispanics ought to be Republicans.

ksagnostic

The issue down in Texas is similar to what is happening here in Kansas. The joke, which really isn't a joke here, is that Kansas is a two party state, with Christian Right (who call themselves "traditional" ) Republicans and the other, "moderate" Republicans. Democrats are an almost irrelevant third pary here.

The problem is that while the Christian Right fanatics seem unable to resist overreaching, and get slapped down by their more moderate bretheran with some regularity("moderate" =anyone, otherwise conservative or not, who does not really want a government by the fanatics, for the fanatics), they will get back on their feet and try again, because they are obsessive compulsive fanatics who are truly addicted to their point of view. Their opponents will eventually move on, but they won't. As a result, they take over the party again because, in most presincts, they are the only ones obsessive enough to bother. The fanatics never move on, and never get over it.

The problem is not, in my opinion, so much that they will be actually able to implement their knuckleheaded policies, at least anytime soon. The problem is that because they often control the agenda of discussion of their party, and because they have elected their candidates to, in particular, legislative offices, they have therefore moved the entirity of our national dialogue substantially to the right.

[ June 11, 2002: Message edited by: ksagnostic ]

[ June 11, 2002: Message edited by: ksagnostic ]</p>

copernicus

I agree with Toto. Having the Texas Republican Party dominated by right wing religious extremists will boost the chances of Democrats. It happened here in the state of Washington. Religious extremists came to dominate the state Republican Party apparatus because they were more organized and disciplined than the more moderate Republicans. Now we have a Democratic governor and both houses of the state government ruled by Democrats. In our two-party system, the more extreme elements of the party's base can take over the agenda of the party, but that just tends to drive the moderate majority into the arms of the other party. It is almost always a question of who occupies the middle ground.

The Other Michael

Hi Mageth,

I'd be interested to know if there has been a single year since the country was founded that lacked hurricanes, droughts, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes, not to mention insect infestations (plagues of locusts).

If this "Christian Nation" started out that way, it must have been pretty idyllic until things went to hell in a handbasket as apostasy took over.

cheers,
Michael

never been there

<a href="http://www.morons.org/articles/3/1687" target="_blank">morons.org</a> have a well-referenced article tracking this issue.