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Bible Beaters Launch Campaign to force Congressman-elect Keith Ellison

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kevinbgoode Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:29 PM
Original message
Bible Beaters Launch Campaign to force Congressman-elect Keith Ellison
to take his oath of office with his hand on the BIBLE, not the KORAN. Ellison is apparently the first Muslim elected to Congress, and has decided to take his oath of office with his hand on the Koran rather than the Bible. This has the American "Family" Association, the self-appointed guardians of all things "Christian" (except anyone they don't like) wrapped up tighter than a holy roller CEO of a wingnut ministry buyin' meth and getting soothing massages from a gay massage therapist. Using their typical catch-phrases revealing the utter threat to American civilization this swearing-in ceremony raises to our children, the AFA has issued another one of their (yawn) calls to email flood senators and representatives demanding Ellison be forced to take his oath on the AFA-approved bible.

Here is the text of their latest email "alert". . .

A first for America...The Koran replaces the Bible at swearing-in oath

What book will America base it's values on, the Bible or the Koran?

Dear _________ ,

Please take a moment to read the following TownHall.com column by Dennis Prager, who is a Jew. After reading the column, take the suggest action at the bottom of this email. After you have read it, please forward it to your friends and family.

America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on
By Dennis Prager - Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

First, it is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism -- my culture trumps America's culture. What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Devotees of multiculturalism and political correctness who do not see how damaging to the fabric of American civilization it is to allow Ellison to choose his own book need only imagine a racist elected to Congress. Would they allow him to choose Hitler's "Mein Kampf," the Nazis' bible, for his oath? And if not, why not? On what grounds will those defending Ellison's right to choose his favorite book deny that same right to a racist who is elected to public office?

Of course, Ellison's defenders argue that Ellison is merely being honest; since he believes in the Koran and not in the Bible, he should be allowed, even encouraged, to put his hand on the book he believes in. But for all of American history, Jews elected to public office have taken their oath on the Bible, even though they do not believe in the New Testament, and the many secular elected officials have not believed in the Old Testament either. Yet those secular officials did not demand to take their oaths of office on, say, the collected works of Voltaire or on a volume of New York Times editorials, writings far more significant to some liberal members of Congress than the Bible. Nor has one Mormon official demanded to put his hand on the Book of Mormon. And it is hard to imagine a scientologist being allowed to take his oath of office on a copy of "Dianetics" by L. Ron Hubbard.

So why are we allowing Keith Ellison to do what no other member of Congress has ever done -- choose his own most revered book for his oath?

The answer is obvious -- Ellison is a Muslim. And whoever decides these matters, not to mention virtually every editorial page in America, is not going to offend a Muslim. In fact, many of these people argue it will be a good thing because Muslims around the world will see what an open society America is and how much Americans honor Muslims and the Koran.

This argument appeals to all those who believe that one of the greatest goals of America is to be loved by the world, and especially by Muslims because then fewer Muslims will hate us (and therefore fewer will bomb us).

But these naive people do not appreciate that America will not change the attitude of a single American-hating Muslim by allowing Ellison to substitute the Koran for the Bible. In fact, the opposite is more likely: Ellison's doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal -- the Islamicization of America.

When all elected officials take their oaths of office with their hands on the very same book, they all affirm that some unifying value system underlies American civilization. If Keith Ellison is allowed to change that, he will be doing more damage to the unity of America and to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9-11. It is hard to believe that this is the legacy most Muslim Americans want to bequeath to America. But if it is, it is not only Europe that is in trouble."


Ya think he should have signed it "Love, Don"..?

Hmmm. . .maybe we should take up a collection and send a flood of Korans to the American "Family" Association. Let's let the religions fight it out over who can overevangelize each other.



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radfringe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:31 PM
Response to Original message
1. freaking stoooooopid
don't they know this is a distraction from the war on penguins, which is a distraction from the war on the peace wreath, which distracted us from the war on christmas?

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zreosumgame Donating Member (862 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:45 PM
Response to Reply #1
33. careful, next they will declare war on wind-chimes!
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PreacherCasey Donating Member (717 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:50 PM
Response to Reply #33
34. That's because it's not wind which is passing through the
chimes to make the sound, it's Devil's Breath!

Booo!

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liberaldemocrat7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #34
37. If I had the opportunity I would put my hand on the book form of the Torah.
Dennis Prager, the Republican Jew does not speak for me.

Also from now on please refer to that organization as the American Republican Family Association. They do not speak for all families, just the wingnut conservative Republican families. They do not speak for my family.

Let Mr. Ellison take his oath on the Koran.

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evilgenius602 Donating Member (105 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #37
46. If elected I will take my oath on "A Confederacy of Dunces".eom.
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liberaldemocrat7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 06:01 PM
Response to Reply #37
49. They do not swear on any book.
I just read at thnkprogress that they do not swer on any book. Recalling what I have seen on cspan for years think progress does describe what I recall now as to the swearing in of congressmen and women.

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michaz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:32 PM
Response to Original message
2. They don't...
swear on anything. Just hold up their hand and take oath to the Constitution. I just read that somewhere.
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newyawker99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:36 PM
Response to Reply #2
31. Hi michaz!!
Welcome to DU!! :toast:
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michaz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #31
38. Thanks for the Welcome
I have been around for a while. Don't post a lot until something really gets my ire! But I sure do like to read!
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gratuitous Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:32 PM
Response to Original message
3. None of the Reps take their oath on a Bible
It's a big mass swearing-in, and they all just raise their right hand where they stand. Some of them may stage photo op swearing ins that include a Bible or a copy of Mad magazine, but none of them take their oath of office on a Bible.

These people are just. Plain. Nuts.
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warrens Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:33 PM
Response to Original message
4. Why not swear on the Constitution and Bill of Rights?
That's what I want MY congressmen defending and upholding.
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jumpoffdaplanet Donating Member (676 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:06 PM
Response to Reply #4
35. They already swear on the const.
any pictures of anyone swearing on a bible is a photo op taken later.

The religious reich are all morons.
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jpgray Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:34 PM
Response to Original message
5. So have him swear in on a book that has no meaning for him?
Doesn't that undermine the oath of office?
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:36 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Well, actually, it's a minor text in Islam...like Isa (Jesus) is a prophet, but not THE Prophet NT
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jpgray Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:37 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. Well, nix all concept of a divine Christ in the New Testament, and yeah
Swearing on the Koran would presumably make a lot more sense.
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:42 PM
Response to Reply #11
16. I am a fan of swearing on one of Senator Byrd's little Constitution books, myself! NT
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:20 PM
Response to Reply #8
26. Qur'an a minor text?
Edited on Thu Nov-30-06 04:22 PM by ayeshahaqqiqa
Is that what you were saying in your post? Or are you referring to the Bible? I'm not sure I understand, so kindly explain.
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:23 PM
Response to Reply #26
44. No, that isn't what I am saying at all.
The BIBLE, specifically the Old Testament, is a MINOR text in Islam. It is a "religious" book, but it isn't THE BOOK. The "People of the Book" is how Christians were termed in Iran, for example.

As I said above, Jesus, aka ISA, is "a" prophet in Islam, as is Moses, and of course Abraham/Ibrahim got the whole ball rolling. But "the" Prophet is Muhamad, the others are subordinate in importance.
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 06:53 PM
Response to Reply #44
51. Thanks for the clarification
I wasn't quite sure what you meant from your post.

Also, one point;like Christianity, there are different sects in Islam. Sufis that I know regard ALL prophets as equal to one another, all holy books sacred. (Maybe that's why the Saudis consider us heretics.) Personally, I get uncomfortable with Muslims who hold Mohammed "above" the others, as at times it borders on worship, and that sure wasn't what the Last Prophet wanted!
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 10:40 PM
Response to Reply #51
52. Some of those sects are as varied, if not more so, than
so called Christian denominations. Most people think shi'a and sunni, if they know anything at all about Islam, are the ying and the yang, but there's a whole lotta shakin' going on in addition to those two famous schools. They do serve to illustrate the differences in terms of line of succession arguments, but that ain't the half of it....Ahmadiyya is pretty interesting--I get a kick out of that sect because I know if the Fundies knew the half of their beliefs (Jesus survived the crucifixion and ended up in India looking for the lost tribes of Israel, and lived to be a hundred and thirty or so!) they'd have a total cow.

Anything that irritates the excessively and annoyingly righteous is fine by me!
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cascadiance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #5
36. Careful, you might give the Tom Delays ways of making excuses...
Edited on Thu Nov-30-06 05:10 PM by calipendence
for their lies, etc.

"Oh, I was given a koran to swear my oath of office on. Therefore I never agreed to anything!"
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Kerrytravelers Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:34 PM
Response to Original message
6. I love it. I hope they get louder and louder. Let the sleeping Americans see what they really are.
Go for it. Go on every news channel that will have them. Shout it from every rooftop. And when people hear that these people are now trying to debase a man who has been fairly elected by the people of his state, an overwhelming majority will think they are fools. If anyone argues that no one believes this should be a Christian nation, our new easy answer will be this event. So please, in the words of their "fearless imbecile," Bring * It * On!
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:35 PM
Response to Original message
7. I think we ought to send them emails of OUTRAGE and alert the goddamned media, myself NT
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michaz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:15 PM
Response to Reply #7
40. I Already Did....
send emails to both Prager and the American Family Association.
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slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:36 PM
Response to Original message
9. If elected, I promise to REALLY piss them off by taking the oath on...
A copy of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, 6th Edition.

Not that it's my "religion", I just want to see them squirm.
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mrreowwr_kittty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:37 PM
Response to Original message
10. I don't know much about Islam but
Might it be a violation of his faith for him to take an oath on anything other than the Koran? I remember there being a big issue back during Desert Storm over troops having Bibles and other religious materials in their possession while in Saudi Arabia.
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Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:41 PM
Response to Reply #10
14. One with a new testament in it?
Edited on Thu Nov-30-06 03:41 PM by Warpy
You bet. oddly enough, swearing on the Torah, the first five books of the modern bible, would probably be OK, since Arabs especially claim to be descendents of Abraham through Ishmael.

I'm just guessing here, but I know full well those bible idolators don't have a legal leg to stand on, superstitious fucks that they are.
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:26 PM
Response to Reply #14
28. Actually,
the Torah, the Bible (Old & New Testaments) and the Qur'an are all seen as part of the Word of God, just as Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed are all messengers of God. I don't know about THE messenger as referred in another post-Mohammed is not considered divine, just the last of the messengers. He is called the Seal of the Prophets, as Jesus is called the Seal of the Saints.

As for Saudi Arabia, hey, I'm Muslim but a Sufi and would not be allowed to practice my version of Islam there. A very strange country with no religious freedom, even for Muslims of different sects.
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Warpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:18 PM
Response to Reply #28
41. Thanks!
I was just guessing, "stomped off in sheer disgust" ex Irish Catholic that I am.

I know Saudi Arabia is intolerant of other sects although I've never heard of them denying the right to visit Mecca.

You're right, it's a strange country. Nice people, odd laws.
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Opusnone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:37 PM
Response to Original message
12. Discussion here:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/30/koran-bible-prager-ellison/

Coward/radio host Dennis Prager is stirring the pot.

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acmavm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:40 PM
Response to Original message
13. bush** and them put their hands on Bibles. They lied their
asses off. Oaths based on honor don't mean shit anymore.

He can swear on the Ladies Home Journal for all I care.
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AspenRose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:15 PM
Response to Reply #13
39. For real
I'd be more concerned about being struck by lightening if I were Bush & Co., putting their hands on a Bible and then lying their a**es off.

That's much more offensive to me....:shrug:
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RB TexLa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:42 PM
Response to Original message
15. They don't have to place their hand on anything

If they choose not to.

Johnson was sworn in on a Missal. Says in the oaths "swear or affirm," what is wrong with these people? I guess if I were being sworn into something they would demand I be sworn in on a 66 book Protestant Bible? Heaven forbid if I were to be sworn in on the Bible and a book of the Catechisms.

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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:44 PM
Response to Original message
17. AFA on Dennis Prager: "He's one of the good'uns"
These folks really have no concept of the word freedom, do they?
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EvolveOrConvolve Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:44 PM
Response to Original message
18. Haven't these nutballs read the fucking bible?
It's easily as violent as the koran, and contains far more stories of immoral behaviour by god's supposed "chosen ones."

What a bunch of idiots.
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Roland99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:44 PM
Response to Original message
19. Why don't we ship all of the pseudo-Christian morans off to Afghanistan to battle the Taliban?
Think of the TV ratings!

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Bake Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:48 PM
Response to Original message
20. I'd rather elect an atheist who will swear to uphold the Constitution, and mean it
I don't care if he/she places a hand on the Bible, the Koran, or thin air. I'd rather have an atheist, a Muslim, a Wiccan, or whatever ... I don't care what they believe or don't believe in, as long as they believe in the Constitution and will give their last full measure of devotion to defend, preserve and uphold it --- than an army of Christian RWer's who place their hands on the Bible knowing all the while that they'll ignore or subvert the Constitution at the first, and every, opportunity!

And I AM a Christian.

Bake
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Cessna Invesco Palin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:52 PM
Response to Original message
21. Ugh.
You know, this kind of shit that will make the Republican Party a permanent minority if they keep it up. It's the man's religion fer chrissakes. Let him do his thing. He's not going to make your daughter marry a homosexual aardvark from Mexico.

Gah, AFA can go to hell.
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Tesha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:55 PM
Response to Original message
22. "Moby Dick"?
I'm always reminded of the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes at
the Whistlestop Cafe
where the preacher swears on a book
in court and then proceeds to lie his head off to defend Idgy
against the (false) murder charges.

And it turns out later that he swore on a copy of Moby Dick.

Honestly, people will either tell the truth or they won't, and
it doesn't matter WHAT volume they swore on.

Tesha
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kimmylavin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 03:56 PM
Response to Original message
23. What really scares me...
Is the continued implication that America and the Bible go hand in hand.

"Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."

So, only Christians who believe in the Bible can serve in Congress?

Didn't people come to this country to ESCAPE this sort of fanatical thinking?
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bigmonkey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:32 PM
Response to Reply #23
30. As a guy who grew up in Massachusetts ...
Unfortunately many folks came to this continent to _enact_ thinking like that. But, again as a guy from Mass., it really didn't work out so well, and so resulted the Constitution. These folks want to go back to a past era already proven oppressive, messy, and violent. If you grew up in the Northeast, and you know the history, you know we already tried and abandoned this whole perspective - remember the Witch Trials?

Sometimes I wish there was an auxiliary planet they could go to, just like the Pilgrims chose the wilderness over civilization to pursue their tightly controlled "lifestyle choice."
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newyawker99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:37 PM
Response to Reply #23
32. Hi kimmylavin!!
Welcome to DU!! :toast:
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ayeshahaqqiqa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:19 PM
Response to Original message
24. Once again,
an attempt to paint all Muslims as terrorists, as if Islam were a monolithic religion with no sects and one great leader, whom I suppose they see as Osama bin Laden.

So much ignorance about one of the major religions on the planet is being spread-and attempts by progressive Muslims around the world to show that they are peace loving and that they condemn terror as un-Islamic is being suppressed by the mainstream media (check out Muslim/Islam group here at DU for examples).
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:20 PM
Response to Original message
25. And the best part: this story isn't even real.
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sakabatou Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:22 PM
Response to Original message
27. The American Taliban
Destroying the lives of non-christians since 1980.
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PreacherCasey Donating Member (717 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 04:32 PM
Response to Original message
29. No religious book should be sworn upon anyway. Swear on
this, swear on that... What are we a bunch of 6 year olds? What is the point? Swearing on something has no significance whatsoever.

You can only judge an elected official by what he/she does while in office, not by what he/she says before or after he/she is elected.

If a person is going to do wrong (like, say, swearing to uphold the Constitution of the US and then deliberately subverting it) then they are going to do it. The swearing not to do it beforehand means NOTHING. These people need to stop worrying about silly traditions and start facing reality.

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AspenRose Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:21 PM
Response to Reply #29
43. I'm with you
I thought you weren't supposed to swear by anything that was supposed to be God's, anyway.

"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one'." Matthew 5 : 37

"Above all, my brothers, do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your 'Yes' be yes, and your 'No', no, or you will be condemned." James 5 : 12

Do these people even read the Bible?

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NYC Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:19 PM
Response to Original message
42. I posted on this before, BUT there have been PRESIDENTS who did NOT use the Bible!
Teddy Roosevelt DID NOT USE A BIBLE for HIS oath

He used a copy of the Constitution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_St...

Theodore Roosevelt did not use a Bible when taking the oath in 1901.

Nor did Calvin Coolidge: http://www.historicvermont.org/coolidge/oathrm.html

The Bible which had belonged to my mother lay on the table at my hand. It was not officially used, as it is not the practice in Vermont or Massachusetts

Nor did, I believe, John Quincy Adams: http://fpc.state.gov/fpc/40871.htm

There's an interesting thing about John Adams and John Quincy Adams -- they were both very religious men, and John Quincy Adams were so religious that he is one of probably only one or two American presidents who did not take the Oath of Allegiance on a Bible. Now, it's kind of ironic that John Quincy Adams, being such a religious man, would not have used the Bible, but he said that he thought the Bible should be reserved for strictly religious purposes. So he took the Oath of Office on a book of laws, the Constitution and American laws. That's really what he was swearing allegiance to was the Constitution, so he didn't use the Bible.

Also, in the OFFICIAL (private, prior to the public one) swearing-ins of Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur NO BIBLE was used. (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pibible.html )
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Kire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:26 PM
Response to Original message
45. He asks us to forgive him...
...because he knows he's doing something wrong.
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saracat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:48 PM
Response to Original message
47. You do not have to swear on a Bible in Court if you do not want to.
Edited on Thu Nov-30-06 05:49 PM by saracat
Why should taking an oath as Congressman be any different? What if he were an atheist? Should he swear on something he doesn't believe? Wouldn't that make the oath a lie? This is unbelievable and petty.It shows them for what they are, very little people.
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smoogatz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 05:51 PM
Response to Original message
48. He should swear on the Koran now, just to piss these morons off.
Or maybe on the Kama Sutra, or "Naked Lunch."
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Tom Joad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-30-06 06:36 PM
Response to Original message
50. How about no book? Would no book work? Works for me.
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donheld Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Dec-01-06 04:28 AM
Response to Original message
53. Have him and all of congress swear on this
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