MOJO-JOJO

This is a copy of my e-mail to them today after I heard one of them say, "The only thing worse than an atheist is a loud-mouthed atheist." (I was thinking the same thing about Christians )

My e-mail;

Wow! As a former fundamentalist and now agnostic freethinker (which is why I like AND listen to your show), I was floored by your remark this morning regarding the Pledge of Allegiance being unconstitutional. You said that the only thing worse than an atheist was a "loud-mouthed" atheist. Funny how you guys are always (and appropriately so) making fun of christianity ("Kristi-anity"?) and religion in general, but when it comes to a serious topic about forcing people to express or pledge belief in a supreme invisible being that no one can prove exists, you suddenly jump on the Jerry Falwell wagon with your ad hominem attacks against people who (by your constant blasphemous statements) are just people like you!

Here is a reproduction of a newsletter by the Secular Humanist Society (again...people like you who at least have the courage to admit it), which might better explain their position on this matter for you and your listeners.


E-newsletter of the Council for Secular Humanism for June 27, 2002

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As word of the 9th Circuit’s decision holding the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in
schools is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the government makes headlines in
the media and the demagogues of every stripe make bellicose statements threatening the judges
who issued the ruling and the plaintiff who brought the case, we in the secular humanist
movement must make every attempt to make our voices heard.

The Council urges you to send letters to the editor of your local newspapers and call into
talk radio shows. You can even vote in those silly polls online. Send e-mails or faxes to
your Senators and Representatives telling them that you are a proud American citizen and they
have an obligation to represent you, too.

Many folks in our local groups around the U.S. are being interviewed and if you have an
opportunity to appear on radio or TV or give an interview to a print reporter please do so.

The official statement of the Council for Secular Humanism on this issue follows this
message. Please feel free to use it as you see fit.

Finally, we can all take a moment to try to counter the hate mail that is sure to be pouring
into the 9th Circuit judges by sending a letter of support. The judges who are coming under
fire are Alfred T. Goodwin, who wrote the opinion, and Stephen Reinhardt, who concurred. You
can send a note of support to these judges at:

The Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin
The Honorable Stephen Reinhardt
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
P.O. Box 193939
San Francisco, CA 94119-3939

You can also visit their website at: <a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov" target="_blank">www.ca9.uscourts.gov</a>

***

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL FOR SECULAR HUMANISM REGARDING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE RULING


“No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship.” (Thomas Jefferson)

(Amherst, NY) – June 27, 2002 - The Council for Secular Humanism welcomes the decision of the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which holds that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in
schools is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the government of the United
States.

“Expressing fealty to a God, should not be a condition of citizenship. Love of country does
not necessarily correlate to a love of God,” said Ed Buckner, executive director of the
Council for Secular Humanism. “While the attention of the nation is focused on the phrase
‘under God’ we should not lose sight of that other important phrase in the Pledge of
Allegiance, ‘with liberty and justice for all,’ said Buckner. “In a country that prizes
itself for protecting freedom, it cannot be that people are only free to agree with the
majority.”

This ruling and the national debate it has prompted will serve as a history lesson for all
citizens. The original Pledge of Allegiance, which was crafted by a Baptist minister, was
completely secular and contained no reference to a “God.” The phrase “under God” was added to
the Pledge of Allegiance during the McCarthy era, a time to which we do not wish to see the
country return.

The original motto of the United States was the Latin phrase, “E pluribus unum,” which means,
“Out of many, one.” And, Sen. Christopher Bond’s somewhat agitated expression of concern
about preserving the oath of office for presidents belies the fact that the Constitution, at
Article II, section 1, does NOT contain the phrase “so help me God” in the oath. In fact, the
entire Constitution makes no reference to a supreme being.

While our current crop of political leaders rush to get photo ops of themselves on the
Capitol steps, it might be instructive to return to the pronouncements of the true political
giants who founded this country. Thomas Jefferson declared in the Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom that, “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious
worship.” John Adams said, “Thirteen governments thus founded on the natural authority of the
people alone, without pretence of miracle or mystery…”

The fact that a majority of Americans believe in God does not make it right to impose that
belief on the minority of citizens who do not. It was not so very long ago in this country
that a majority of citizens believed African Americans should not have the right to vote, the
right to live in communities of their choosing, the right to a quality education.

As reports of death threats to the man who brought this case increase, presumably from
“god-fearing Americans,” one cannot help but wonder what exactly is the benefit of a belief
in a god for those people. As Edmund Burke said, “The tyranny of the multitude is a
multiplied tyranny.”
###


Since most of the listeners of your show are probably atheists, agnostics, humanists, or otherwise indifferent (at least judging by the comments made by you folks as well as the content of the show), I think you need to retract and apologize for your remark immediately. I can't imagine that too many "christians" would listen to the Bob and Tom show, since they would most likely deem it sinful to do so.

[ June 27, 2002: Message edited by: MOJO-JOJO ]</p>

butswana

These two fucking idiots came to Indy about 20 years ago. After a few months, all the titties, beer, and fart jokes got old. One of them says "pull my finger", and they laugh for 5 minutes. They are NOT funny.

MOJO-JOJO

Yeah, I think we had this talk a little ways back.
They are actually pretty funny when they're making fun of the ridiculousness of religious and supersticious beliefs, or have guests on that do the same. But suddenly they got all righteous today because they were upset that people can't just ignore the "under God" thing in the pledge.