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| Al Bedrosian, all for religious tolerance. If you worship the right religion that is. |
“The freedom of religion doesn’t mean that every religion has to be heard,” said Al Bedrosian, who sits on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. “If we allow everything, where do you draw the line?”
The Republican said Monday, after the high court ruled 5-4 that legislative prayer did not violate the constitutional prohibition on government establishment of religion, that he would not vote to allow non-Christians to deliver invocations.
“I think America, pretty much from Founding Fathers on, I think we have to say more or less that we’re a Christian nation with Christian ideology,” Bedrosian said. “If we’re a Christian nation, then I would say that we need to move toward our Christian heritage.”
Those remarks echoed statements he made several years ago in an editorial published in the Roanoke Times, where he described freedom of religion as a “hoax” and claimed “the global warming crowd worships the environment as god, the abortionist has the death of unborn babies as their god, and the homosexuals have sexual freedom as their god.”
“The real battle is keeping the name of Jesus as Lord,” Bedrosian wrote in 2007. “The name Jesus is what makes us a Christian people and a Christian nation. This is why we must continue our heritage as a Christian nation and remove all other gods.”
That’s what Bedrosian intends to do in his position as county supervisor, saying he would reject any request by any non-Christian adherent to deliver a religious or secular invocation.
“I would say no,” Bedrosian said. “That does not infringe on their freedom of religion. The truth is you’re trying to infringe on my right, because I don’t believe that.”
I have said for many years that if the fundamentalist Christians in this country could figure out how to protect THEIR religion while criminalizing all others, they would do it in a heartbeat.
However the founding fathers, despite what the Evangelicals will tell you, were actually interested in protecting the religious rights of all, rather than to proclaim the country a Christian nation and vilify all of those who refused to worship in the dictated by the majority.
That is why the recent Supreme Court decision that Christian prayers recited before town council meetings were not unconstitutional is bad news for those who embrace true religious freedom.
After all look what happened when the U.S. Senate allowed a Hindu holy man to provide the opening prayer.
Yep, you can almost feel the religious tolerance, can't you?
Like weeds. For every Cuccinelli we kick out of power another asshole pops right up.
ReplyDeleteThat is REALLY weird a Armenian saying this shit especially since they were singled out FOR being Christian (Orthodox Christians) by the Turks who are Muslim! They were singled out and killed and property stolen in the Armenian Genocide 1912.
DeleteReally weird, he would say this. The Orthodox Christians celebrate different Easter & Christmas.
This is very weird.
Once again, with feeling:
DeleteMay God, whoever She may be, protect us from fanatics of all stripes!
I use this when I have had enough of proselytising. It seems to momentarily stun them and allows me to end the nonsense.
Hispanic Millennials are less religious than older U.S. Hispanics
ReplyDeleteMillennial adults in the United States – that is, Americans ages 18 and older but born after 1980 – are more “detached from institutions,” including traditional religion, than their elders, according to a Pew Research report released earlier this year. We’ve also known for a while that younger generations are less likely to affiliate with religious groups.
Our new survey of U.S. Hispanics and religion enables us to take a more detailed look at whether the trend holds true among the country’s largest ethnic minority. And indeed, Hispanic Millennials mirror young American adults overall in their lower rates of religious affiliation and commitment compared with their older counterparts.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/08/hispanic-millennials-are-less-religious-than-older-u-s-hispanics/
Hispanic Nativity Shift
DeleteU.S. births drive population growth as immigration stalls
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2014/04/29/hispanic-nativity-shift/
Love thy neighbor as thyself. NOT!
ReplyDeleteThe US Congress could care less about the people they serve. They have zero connection w/the people.
DeleteCantor had no idea what was going on out there in the world of Americans and openly appeared shocked at the reaction he got publically recently!
Congress is in a Republican bubble as Bill Maher has been saying since President Obama was elected the first time!
Vote them out of office next chance you get, America! They are NOT working in our favor!
Cantor is a Jew. His prayer is not allowed.
DeleteHow religious harassment varies by region across the globe
ReplyDeleteIn nearly three out of every four countries of the world, religious groups experience harassment by individuals or groups in society. The harassment and intimidation take many forms, including physical or verbal assaults; desecration of holy sites; and discrimination against religious groups in employment, education and housing. Every year, we track such harassment through a variety of sources, including the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report and U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief reports. (For more information on our sources and procedures, see our latest report on religious restrictions and hostilities.) Here’s a region-by-region look at where it takes place, and to which groups:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/02/how-religious-harassment-varies-by-region-across-the-globe/
You Need to Watch John Oliver’s Hilariously Raunchy Take on Political Ads
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediaite.com/tv/you-need-to-watch-john-olivers-hilariously-raunchy-take-on-political-ads/
Well, his behavior only opens the door to judicial challenge and this time the court cannot pretend allowing prayer is harmless.
ReplyDeletec
Because BENGHAZI is the latest feeding frenzy...
ReplyDeleteHouse Republicans Admit Defeat By Scheduling No Hearings or Votes to Repeal Obamacare
Republicans have quietly tried to change the subject away from healthcare, and the ACA. The shift is so dramatic that no Republican committee in the House has an Obamacare hearing planned, and there are no repeal votes scheduled.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/05/12/house-republicans-admit-defeat-scheduling-hearings-votes-repeal-obamacare.html
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/205752-gop-goes-quiet-on-o-care#ixzz31WT11w1A
Yes, of course, you're right. It's the poor Christians who are becoming the oppressed minority. Who exactly is attacking them? Oh, what, they can't put a Christmas tree in a place that is paid for and supported with the tax dollars from Jews, Muslims and Atheists? They can't invoked the name of their God above all other Gods in a public meeting? I think that the last time the Christians were so oppressed is when they were dinner for the lions in Ancient Rome.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the United States of America is a Christian nation is made crystal clear by the number of times the Founders put "Jesus" and "Christ" in the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and later, The Constitution.
ReplyDeleteFor all you naysayers, 'Jesus' and 'Christ' are, too, in those founding documents. It is, however, only those real Americans, those who are indwelt by the holy ghost, who can perceive the heavenly names.
Delete@ 2:02
DeleteIf you can see words other than those in "black and white" on the actually Constitution, I would suggest you fe]get your ass to a shrink!
Legal documents have no "reading between the lines" fool!
Also, it happens to be "those who are indwelt by the holy ghost" who are causing all the major troubles this country is experiencing!
GO Away!
Jesus would be so proud.
ReplyDeleteThe United States Congress Is a Hell hole with a horrible majority party full of a nasty group of Republicans!
ReplyDeletePay attention America and vote them OUT of office every chance you get! They are the most ANTI Christian group we have on display to the nation!
We are lucky to have original copies of the Declaration, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution in a museum in our town.
ReplyDeleteI've read them and studied them countless times, and nowhere have I found any mention of Jesus, Christ, or Christianity.
The "Founders" were many different types of Christian -- Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregationalists -- as well as some being deists, Quakers, Jews, or atheists.
Just the variety of Christian sects is a profound way of demonstrating why they wanted freedom of and from religion -- Catholics did not agree on doctrinal details with Anglicans, Methodists were far from Congregationalists, etc.
None of them wanted to be lumped under some meaningless "Christian" label, since it meant different things to different people.
Speaking of which, what about the several 19th c. homegrown religions -- Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists -- that the "Founders" knew nothing about...where do they fit?
Much better to have a moment of silence to let each person take care of his or her own spiritual needs, as they desire.
Al "Spanky" Bedrosian?
ReplyDelete"Virginia legislative candidate Al Bedrosian was arraigned on assault and battery charges for spanking a two-year-old kid, not his own, who was running loose in a Roanoke hospital waiting room. "
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=900005
" There's something about the image of a young political candidate spanking another parent's child that has sparked a passionate community debate that still smolders weeks after the incident.
Al Bedrosian, a Republican Xerox salesman running for the 14th District House seat, was charged with assault and battery for spanking a 2-year-old in a hospital waiting room July 9.
The incident has produced a polarized wave of public opinion and has political pundits wondering whether the event will help or hurt his race.
Bedrosian, who hasn't hired an attorney, is scheduled to appear in Salem's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court this morning for an arraignment hearing."
Some say Bedrosian's actions were justified during an age when children seem to be running wild. Others say Bedrosian was way out of line and that it's inexcusable to strike someone else's child.
They would bring back the Inquisition if they could. One of the reasons I won't give up my guns. When the Inquisition comes for me or my neighbors, I plan to shoot the sons of a bitches.
ReplyDeleteFreedom of religion also means freedom from religion.
"Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion."
DeleteI hate to say this, Caroll, but they vehemently deny that! Of course, they also deny the country is secular. And they demand to make it known that the US is a christian nation despite the legal evidence to the contrary.
Logic and truth mean absolutely NOTHING to these idiots!
You know the kind of people who like to pray loudly before meetings? People like Sarah Palin. The ones who literally don't practice what they preach.
ReplyDelete"I have said for many years that if the fundamentalist Christians in this country could figure out how to protect THEIR religion while criminalizing all others, they would do it in a heartbeat."
ReplyDeleteAmen! I believe that's their ultimate goal. The total ignorance of the fundamental Christians, like Palin, who claim they want to "go back to the Constitution", means they only want to go back to the parts they like, not the parts they don't like such as the freedom of religion if it's anything other than Christianity.
They have told us that this is the ultimate goal. Repeatedly.
DeleteWell said - freedom of religion also means freedom FROM religion.
ReplyDeleteThe "Founding Fathers" were not Christian anyway (Idiots!!!!!!) they were mostly Masons.
Deists.
DeleteAmazing how "christians" have a monopoly and trademark on religious prosecution.
ReplyDeleteThat you tube video is disgusting. I'm an atheist and the chaplain has every right the "Screamers" do to say a prayer to the God of his choice. Whenever I hear of or see "Crazy" like this, I know it's fear and ignorance that drive them to madness.
These people seem to think we have to be christian because the founders were. If that is true, then are we really free?
ReplyDelete