I dunno, current events just reminded me of this poll I saved: It’s a Newsweek poll, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, on October 21-22,1999. (N=755 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 4.)

“Do you believe that the world will end, as the Bible predicts, in a battle at Armageddon between Jesus and the Antichrist?

                   All      All       Evangelical    Other                  Adults  Christians  Protestants  Protestants  Catholics   Yes              40%      45%         71%          28%          18%   No               42%      39%         18%          54%          57%   Don't Know       18%      16%         11%          18%          25%

Last June, I had written to both New York Senators about the Newdow ruling by the 9th circuit court (re: Pledge of Allegiance) to ask that they not blindly reject the courts decision, but to read the ruling (which seems pretty solidly argued). I received a form letter thanking me for my opinion from Senator Schumer. Here is what Sen. Clinton sent me:

********************************************************

Thank you for writing. Your thoughts on the recent decision by the
Appeals Court of the Ninth Circuit regarding the constitutionality of the
pledge of allegiance are very important to me and I appreciate that you
have taken the time to share them with me.

I believe that the Court misinterpreted the intent of the framers of the
Constitution and instead undermined one of the bedrock values of our
democracy, that we are indeed “one nation under God,” as embodied in the
pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States. It is my hope that
this wrong and unfair decision will be promptly appealed and overturned.
That is why I am supporting S. 292, the Pledge of Allegiance resolution.

While our men and women in uniform are battling overseas and defending us
here at home to preserve the freedom that we all cherish for our country
and its citizens, we should never forget the blessings of Divine
Providence that undergird our nation. That includes the freedom to recite
the pledge of allegiance in our nation’s schools. Our government does not
impose faith on its citizens. There is no moral or Constitutional
argument why our pledge of allegiance cannot acknowledge our commonly held
belief that ours is one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.

If you would like to respond to my e-mail or contact me via e-mail about
this or any other subject, please use my web response form at
http://clinton.senate.gov/email_form.html. Because of the size of my
constituency and the growing number who choose to communicate through
e-mail, I have selected the web form as the fairest and most equitable
system to respond to e-mail messages. E-mails that are sent as a direct
response to my outgoing e-mail fall outside the system and do not receive
a response.

Again, thank you for writing. Please check my website at
http://clinton.senate.gov for regular updates on this and other important
issues being discussed before the United States Senate.

Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills has decreed that in NY, having school kids sing “God Bless America” is not only acceptable, but “just the sort of patriotic, ceremonial occasion described by the Supreme Court” where kids are reasonably “‘officially encouraged to express love for our country’ by singing ‘God Bless America,’ an officially espoused anthem which included the composer’s profession of faith in a Supreme Being.” But somehow, that “official encouragement” doesn’t amount to any endorsement of God. You figure it out. The theocrats just get bolder and bolder.

Read the story here: It’s official: Kids can sing ‘God Bless America’ in school.

for ringtones motorol

Law enforcement have used voice funny ringtones evidence in voice funny ringtones of different ways.

Check out the xian “logic” in Ten Commandments to be part of display in county building

“I do not believe that separation of church and state stuff,” the Rev. Scott Carper of First Assembly of God Church in Goshen. “God is very much involved in the operations of government. … The facts remain our founding fathers wanted the nation to be Christian, so that Christians and non-Christians and agnostics would all have the opportunity to be what they wanted to be.”

Ummm…sure, yeah, no problems there…
loan manufactured homes current ceilingdelaware business profit association non loanloans convertible demandloans department of agriculturewebsite department of education loan studentloaning development downtown publix careproject diamond loansloan direct deposit Map

Marco, I should have indicated that those were not my responses to the prayer e-mail. They were just a few of the responses from other Hunter folks. I would never say ‘God has nothing to do with wars.’ service corp miami accreditedlist of creditors adelphiaamerican tacoma credit union lakelexington accredited ky childcare centersaccreditations agsmember highland accredited angie l1040es credit payments tax cardagilent accreditation Map

Thought I’d share an exchange that took place today on Hunter-L, the Hunter College listserv. First there was this:

Subject: Say a Prayer for Our Brave Men and Women in Uniform

Watch Over Them

Join us as we pray for the safety of our men and women in uniform who have volunteered to serve our country in combat. Take a moment each day to say one prayer for our troops. Remember their families who have given up so much so willingly. Pray that they return to their loved ones safely and quickly.

The Hunter College Chaplains Council
Hunter College Hillel Foundation
Newman Catholic Center, Office of Campus Ministry
Protestant Association at Hunter College, Office of Campus Ministry

and then these responses:

I’m stunned. Are there actually any truly religious people who think the beginning of a war is the occasion for prayers only for the safety of “our men and women” without mention of “their” children — hwo make up more than half of “their” population? Are those who volunteer to kill
people in far-off lands more worthy of your prayers than those that have been targeted in their homes? Shame on those who try to cloak the launching of a slaughter with ANY illusion of special divine intervention for the safety of the aggressor. Pray for your God to watch over everyone put at risk by this criminal war, or keep your prayers to yourself. Does anyone think God asks the dead what country they came from?

This is the first rational e-mail that I read. God has nothing to do with wars. And if we were to pray for the safety of anyone, it should be for all those Iraqi civilians who are innocent and have to face the bombings and get killed by US troops.

Well, it’s official, it seems: The smirking chimp is taking us to war for God. As he says, historical events “aren’t moved by blind change and chance, but by the hand of a just and faithful God”; and surely the US becoming the world’s rogue nation, invading other countries in defiance of the UN, is an historical event; so the chimp must be doing what God intends. Fucking bible-thumping moron is about to start not only a bloody war, but an era of serious retaliatory attacks on the US.

No wonder he didn’t want to agree to the powers of the World War Crimes Court last year.

A little story about how weird it can be to live in this country: America’s Deep Christian Faith

According to that faith there is such a thing as heaven – 86% of Americans, we are told by the pollsters, believe in heaven.

But much more striking to me, and much more pertinent to current world events, is the fact that 76% or three out of four people you meet on any American street believe in hell and the existence of Satan.

They believe that the devil is out to get you. That evil is a force in the world – a force to be engaged in battle.

Yeah, no mental dysfunctions there…