That is because you refuse to see. You should feel convicted over that. Read this: http://nolongerquivering.com/2009/07/24/vyckies-story-part-20-though-he-slay-me-again/

And the “most vile” atheists that you say are attacking your godly idols and symbols are actually members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation http://ffrf.org/purposes/ which works to enforce the seperation of church and state which was guaranteed to us in the constitution. For years fundamentalist and evangelical christians have been working an agenda to establish Christianity as our national religion and to turn us into a theocracy. A lot of us are tired of that crap, even a lot of christians, and we don’t really care if you like it or not. Christians never care if we like it or not when they erect their religious idols in civic spaces.

Really, aren’t you embarrassed to sound so ignorant?

1 lost the royal marbles
2 has some serious religous issues

no wonder they got rid of him in britain.

A classic effort to keep the religulous religulous

24 bullets is rational if one wants to alledge self defence and does not want the guy against whom one allegedly defended ones self to be around to contradict.

I guess I should have written the number 24 is rational–and that using 24 bullets can be rational…depending upon the context of their usage. In regard to the investigators–some people can rationalize anything!

Whoever gave police officer Lloyd the job of security detail in a school should be called to account in the matter of the student who was beaten.

I’ve never been accused of having mathematical acumen. But I’ll give my opinion anyway regarding the number 24 in regard to the story you reference: I’d say the number of bullets, 24, was rational–but not so the investigators who found that the police officer acted in self defense.

The answer to the next part of the subsection of part 1 was?

We’re safely away from that dangerous “facts” area, so no pictures needed.

Being this is Gyges request you must get his permission. You know those people with mathematical acumen.

I have yet to get a response if 24 was a rational number when that officer only shot a person with 24 instead of 25 bullets. No response. It may take a while.

Yes you can include a picture of John Ashcroft whom is standing in front of the partially-nude statues that he had covered with blue drapes!!!!!
***********************

You said: I recall thinking at the time: Now he’ll be the only boob in the picture when he’s photographed speaking in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice.

That is not true. Bush was there as well. Scalia, Thomas, Cheney… Lots of boobs in that administration. And you see Clinton was only caught with two at the Whitehouse. Well, at least one set before that….

Nah, I’d hold my own beer. You might drink it. Thank you very much.

Can we also include a picture of John Ashcroft standing in front of the partially-nude statues that he had covered with blue drapes? I recall thinking at the time: Now he’ll be the only boob in the picture when he’s photographed speaking in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice.

“Hold my beer and watch this…”

AY, Elaine,

What do you guys think you’re doing injecting history into a discussion of Religion’s role in the History of the U.S.?
Don’t make me link to that picture of Jesus holding the Constitution.
******************
Well if you do that then you must also include the secular picture of Herr Rove in front of the lady of justice with the scales that has been blindfolded.

That is true don’t interject religion into politics or …..

You know Jesus is not coming back until the christian drop there crosses, you think hes a fool. I think he would say, been there, done that and not again. Thank you very much….

You know Jesus was not a red neck or else you’d seen on the cross the real last words, “Hey Ya’ll get a look at this….”

Is there any culture the French can’t teach to cook?

I suppose it was those French chefs who were responsible for the invention of haggis au poivre–a well-known dish eaten by Scottish highlanders.

What do you guys think you’re doing injecting history into a discussion of Religion’s role in the History of the U.S.?
Don’t make me link to that picture of Jesus holding the Constitution.

I read a book and now I cannot find it, yes, actually read a book. OMG, I must run to confession as I am sure its a sin to read something that digress’ the RCC interpretation on this subject. In as much I found this

link: http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/ch/in_america.htm

“In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated early american christmas – winter holiday in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

And outlawed Christmas After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

X-mass did not take on real importance in the US until after the civil war. See what the damn yankees did again and you thought it was over states rights. It was warping our minds with commercialism.

That is a very kind thing to say about your spouse. I am sure that he is lucky, blessed indeed.

My husband is unparalleled. Thus, I made the wise choice to marry him.

Interesting facts: the earliest known mention of haggis is in an ancient English cookbook.

Scottish owes a bit to the French. Mary Queen of Scots brought a large number of chefs when she returned from France.

All choices are equal, so long as we think that they are. In a parallel universe even the unparalleled seemed parallel.

EW! Haggis…the real reason Scotsmen came to America! They were looking for foods a little more appealing to the taste buds.

But are they TRUE Scotsmen?

You said: “Christianity has been around the U.S. for a long, long time. I cannot see where it has hurt anyone.”

I’m a resident of the state where the Pilgrims settled in 1620. The history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is filled with stories of religious intolerance—and not just intolerance of Jews and Catholics, but of other Christian sects. Roger Williams, a cleric and the founder of Providence, RI, was expelled from Massachusetts for criticizing Puritanism.

I doubt that the residents of Salem and its environs, who were hanged and crushed to death in 1692 after they were found guilty of witchcraft, would agree with your statement that I quoted above.

I think it best to keep religion out of government and politics.

I’m so old that I remember reciting the Pledge of Allegiance when it didn’t include the words “under God.” Those two words weren’t added until 1954.

Here’s an excerpt of an article at Slate.com that provides a historical background of the “Pledge of Allegiance”:

The Pledge of Allegiance: Why we’re not one nation “under God.” by David Greenberg, a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers and author of three books of political history

“Poor Alfred Goodwin! So torrential was the flood of condemnation that followed his opinion—which held that it’s unconstitutional for public schools to require students to recite “under God” as part of the Pledge of Allegiance—that the beleaguered appellate-court judge suspended his own ruling until the whole 9th Circuit Court has a chance to review the case.
“Not one major political figure summoned the courage to rebut the spurious claims that America’s founders wished to make God a part of public life. It’s an old shibboleth of those who want to inject religion into public life that they’re honoring the spirit of the nation’s founders. In fact, the founders opposed the institutionalization of religion. They kept the Constitution free of references to God. The document mentions religion only to guarantee that godly belief would never be used as a qualification for holding office—a departure from many existing state constitutions. That the founders made erecting a church-state wall their first priority when they added the Bill of Rights to the Constitution reveals the importance they placed on maintaining what Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore have called a “godless Constitution.” When Benjamin Franklin proposed during the Constitutional Convention that the founders begin each day of their labors with a prayer to God for guidance, his suggestion was defeated.

“Given this tradition, it’s not surprising that the original Pledge of Allegiance—meant as an expression of patriotism, not religious faith—also made no mention of God. The pledge was written in 1892 by the socialist Francis Bellamy, a cousin of the famous radical writer Edward Bellamy. He devised it for the popular magazine Youth’s Companion on the occasion of the nation’s first celebration of Columbus Day. Its wording omitted reference not only to God but also, interestingly, to the United States:

“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

http://www.slate.com/?id=2067499

Do you suppose based on your statements that some Muslims would believe that Christianity is bent on attacking their religion?

I’ve got a couple jokes for you:

Knock Knock. Who’s there? Jehova’s Witness…

Knock Knock. Who’s there? Mormons…

Knock Knock. Who’s there? We’re getting a petition together to try and amend the California state constitution to define marriage based on our religious beliefs…

Knock Knock, Who’s there? Candidate Obama, I’d like to reassure you that like all good American’s I’m a Christian…

Knock Knock, Who’s there? http://jonathanturley.org/2009/10/07/keep-albuquerque-atheist-free-city-council-member-runs-on-the-lack-of-faith-of-his-opponent/

Knock Knock, Who’s there? (You get the point).

The primary focus Evangelical Christianity (note I didn’t say ALL), is the conversion of the unbeliever. As to your statement that you can’t see any harm caused by Christianity, I suggest you talk to those Native Peoples who had their children abducted under the pretext of raising them like as Christians instead of as savage heathens like their parents.

I don’t hold religion in contempt, I hold fundamentalism.

That said, there are plenty of “Catholics” who are more along the lines of Mel Gibson. As far as I know Mr. Gibson hasn’t been formally excommunicated, or if he has in some way “left the Church”, but his views and the views of many far-right nuts who call themselves Catholic are actually in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Vatican. (Then again, there are many progressive Catholics who hold views opposed by the Vatican also…)

I’ll admit that I haven’t read Mr. Blair’s statements, but it sounds like they are in line with recent statements from the current Pope regarding a concern about the secularization of western culture. I don’t know about Mr. Blair’s motivations, but the Pope has been loosing a lot of well off “customers”, and that would certainly cause concern.

Differential Blood count:
percentages of neutrophils,
lymphocytes,
monocytes,
eosinophils,
basophils

Chemistry profile:
glucose (random),
Blood urea nitrogen,
creatinine,
total bilirubin,
Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (AST),
Serum Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (ALT),
alkaline phosphatase,
total protein,
C-reactive protein,
albumin,
sodium,
potassium
calcium.

SOURCE VERSION TYPE NAME CODE UNITS 1 2 3 4
WHO CTC 2.0 HEMATOLOGY Total WBC TOTWBC x10E9/L <LLN – <2 2 – <3 1 – <2 <1
WHO CTC 2.0 HEMATOLOGY Lymphopenia LYMPHOPENIA x10E9/L <LLN – 1 0.5 – <1 <0.5 -
HEMATOLOGY Neutrophils/granulocytes NEUT x10E9/L 1.5 – <2 1 – <1.5 0.5 – <1 <0.5
WHO CTC 2.0 HEMATOLOGY Platelets PLT x10E9/L <LLN – 75 50 – <75 10 – <50 <10
WHO CTC 2.0 HEMATOLOGY Hemoglobin HGB g/L <LLN – 100 80 – <100 65 – <80 ULN – (2.5 x ULN) > 2.5 – (5.0 x ULN) > 5.0 – (20.0 x ULN) > (20.0 x ULN)
ALT ALT - > ULN – (2.5 x ULN) > 2.5 – (5.0 x ULN) > 5.0 – (20.0 x ULN) > (20.0 x ULN)
Alkaline Phosphotase ALP - > ULN – (2.5 x ULN) > 2.5 – (5.0 x ULN) > 5.0 – (20.0 x ULN) > (20.0 x ULN)
Hypercalcemia HYPERCALCEMIA mmol/L > ULN – 2.9 > 2.9 – 3.1 > 3.1 – 3.4 > 3.4
Hypocalcemia HYPOCALCEMIA mmol/L <LLN – 2.0 1.75 – < 2.0 1.5 – < 1.75 ULN – 5.5 > 5.5 – 6.0 > 6.0 – 7.0 > 7.0
Hypokalemia HYPOKALEMIA mmol/L <LLN – 3.0 - 2.5 – <3.0 <2.5

 
CaliforniaGirl –

I am one of those that has contempt for Christianity (along with all of the other religions, or more accurately, bogus mythology) that people like you feel should dominate our lives and nation.
Saying that Christianity “…is the backbone of our value system” (and I am assuming that you are referring to all of America’s value system – i.e. – the founders fathers of our nation) is simply wrong. Benjamin Franklin was an Atheist. Thomas Jefferson was a deist (i.e. – not a Christian).
You can choose to live your life by any doctrine you choose. I really don’t care to know what your beliefs are. But do not feel as though you can choose to shove your beliefs down anyone else’s throat. The separation of church and state is a fundamental tenet of our republic, and I, for one, am happy to continue to support the ACLU in this (and all their other) pursuits.