Petition: Include non-religious in DNC convention opening ceremony
Offline A petition to the DNC has been created by a group called Atheists For Obama.
The petition requests that the non-religious be included in the DNC opening ceremony.
If anyone is interested the petition is here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/FIA/petition.html
I am not affiliated with Atheists for Obama but signed the petition when I saw that it reads as follows:
"To: DNC Faith Advisory Council
The Interfaith Gathering is the first official event of the 2008 Democratic National Convention and signals an opportunity for all those in the faith community to unite around the faith and values they share as Democrats. But what about Democrats who do not have a faith? What will they do at a gathering that DNC Convention CEO Leah Daughtry declared "is a time of celebration of various religious traditions" in the Democratic Party?
We who are without religious faith are part of a constituency worthy of being included as equals in any unity event that the Democratic Party or any other political party holds. Please do not turn the Democratic Convention and Party into an instrument for promoting or favoring religious faith over no religious faith. Religious faith is an option and those who opt to reject religious faith should have an equal role and equal standing at all Democratic Party events, within all Democratic Party institutions, and at all similar civic events in both word and deed without any exceptions whatsoever.
Sincerely,"
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Obama says his father was an atheist and his mother was skeptical of organized religion, I'd hope he'd get it together and push this issue. On the homepage this shall go...
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Signed it.
I donated money to his campaign before.
I donated too and got an Obama magnet for my contribution, which I put on my car.
It so far seems like a strange voting cycle here in Texas though.
Every day as I drive around recently I've been looking for people putting Obama or McCain things on their cars and there are very, very few compared with '04 and '00.
This is the first time in my life I've ever advertised on my car but in the previous elections I saw Bush stickers all over the place and a few for Kerry or Gore. Now in our parking lot of about 150 cars where I work there is one McCain sticker and my lonely Obama magnet. That's it.
Obama has no chance in Texas, so I'm told, but I put my magnet out there to maybe encourage a few people to participate (vote) and to let them know they aren't alone. As someone who does (to say the least) not support the Republican party it easy to feel kind of isolated here in Texas, particularly when you are atheists like my wife and I.
That's odd; at the state convention earlier this year Obama was the favorite by far.
Vote for McCain... www.therealmccain.com ...and he'll bring Jesus back
Really? Ahead of McCain ???
They (the media) always say the Republican candidate is a slam dunk in Texas and looking at the chart on this page seems to sort of confirm that trend over the last 25 years or so. It was 61% Bush to 38% Kerry last time...
http://www.270towin.com/states/Texas
in the dem state convention, yeah, of course. Things are changing in the state, its just that the news is owned by repugs, who of course slant things in their bias.
Vote for McCain... www.therealmccain.com ...and he'll bring Jesus back
wow, I've learned two new words today!
'Repugs' and 'Rethuglicans'.
Both will come in handy
repugs is short for repugnants or repuglicans
Vote for McCain... www.therealmccain.com ...and he'll bring Jesus back
Yeah, I figured that out. Thats why I like it!
And you taught me another one...'Freepers'. thanks
I'll visit and sign and forward on to a few friends that are bashful about coming in here.
You ever wonder how embarrassed people in Texas are of the current president ??
Me? of course not. Have you ever wondered how much you liked or disliked Norm Coleman or Jesse Ventura? Same thing there. No need to wonder how you yourself feel about some other person who lives/lived where you live. Aside from that, bush isn't a Texan. he's an interloper from Connecticut.
Vote for McCain... www.therealmccain.com ...and he'll bring Jesus back
I would say in general Americans are embarrassed by that douchecanoe.
I've got no argument with that generalization.
Vote for McCain... www.therealmccain.com ...and he'll bring Jesus back
Seems like this horrible administration has been going on forever. It is no contest he is the worst president the US has ever had - and hopefully will ever have. Be almost impossible to do worse without trying - and hard to do worse WITH trying!
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
I'd think James Buchanan wins that title hands down.
"With its enduring appeal to the search for truth, philosophy has the great responsibility of forming thought and culture; and now it must strive resolutely to recover its original vocation." Pope John Paul II
Norm Coleman didn't do a whole lot for me, but Jesse did a good job. I think the people here would vote him in office again if given the chance.
As far as the residence of baby bush, I think many of us have moved around the country and can call any residence "home".
He was bad but he looks like Abraham Lincoln compared to Bush.
Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team
Basically my point was, as a Texan, I don't wonder how I or those close to me in proximity feel about bush. I know how I feel and I know how my family, neighbors, and friends feel about him. Same as you know how you feel about Mr. Coleman and Mr. Ventura. Personally, I could hardly care less about Mr. Coleman. I have it on good authority he was quite hypocritical in how he reacted to his daddy's death. As for Mr. Ventura, I can't find much on him beyond what his political opponents have said, so I'll reserve having an opinion until I've met the guy in person.
to steer this thread back to the OP, I think it would be great if secular humanists did get recognized at the DNC convention. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Vote for McCain... www.therealmccain.com ...and he'll bring Jesus back
Well, as another 'Texan', I definitely have wondered and asked a few people.
Generally speaking they (people I know who voted for Bush) sort of feel sorry for him
and let him and themselves off the hook. They say he got in over his head and the people around him
misled/misinformed him.
Back on topic, James Janos, better known as Jesse Ventura would have made an awesome president. He acknowledges people without religion as a good people. He endorsed equal rights for religious minorities, as well as people who don't believe in a god. He declared July 4th, 2002 indivisible day, supporting, I think to remove "god" from the pledge. The internet article goes on to say that he accidentally endorsed a week in October of that same year as "christian heritage week." We only got a day, and they got a week. I think he caught some shit for that one.
But yes back on topic, it will be nice to see the Atheist people recognized once again as a good people.
Is it standard operation that these petitions don't last long? At my age we need a little more time to gather more support for things like this. When did this petition close? Why?
Obama is not listening to any of us heathens.
He's already said he intends to expand Bush's Faith Based Initiatives:
"Few are closer to the people than our churches, synagogues, temples and mosques," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said. Such partnerships can take place without violating the Constitution, he said. "I believe deeply in the separation of church and state."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-01-obama-faith_N.htm
That's an oxymoron. One cannot rationally call for the continuation, much less expansion, of government funding for the work of religious groups and still claim to "believe deeply" in the separation of Church and State. The two ideas are mutually exclusive.
It's just more pandering on his part, and, frankly, I'm sick of his two faces on everything from freedom of choice to government spying on Americans to this giveaway to religious groups.
Obama is a dangerous fraud bent on one goal and one goal alone - the assumption of power. He won't hesitate to undermine the rights of Americans and the Constitution (he's already attacking the first and fourth Amendments) to satisfy that desire.
The petition was to the DNC.
Here is what Obama says on his website:
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The separation of church and state is critical and has caused our democracy and religious practices to thrive.
“[Conservative leaders] need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland…It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religion, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith…” – Call to Renewal Keynote Address
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We are a nation of many faiths and of those with no faith at all. The religious practices of all must be respected.
“Given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.” - Call to Renewal Keynote Address
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Anyway, it is fine with me if you are sick of his two faces on some issues but quite a leap to say he is "a dangerous fraud bent on one goal and one goal alone - the assumption of power. He won't hesitate to undermine the rights of Americans and the Constitution to satisfy that desire."
How do you know that?
What I am sick of is the crap that comes out of people who feel they must demonize and grossly exaggerate the faults of their opponents.
who says one thing and does another?
I call him a fraud because he says he opposes immunity for telecoms for facilitating Bush's illegal spying but votes to give it to them. He says he believes in separation of Church and State but wants to expand the giveaway to religious groups. He says he's all for freedom of choice but votes "present" on important legislation concerning a woman's right to choose. (He also says women need a husband or a priest to "help" them with their choice.) He says he wants to end the insane war Bush started but never once introduces legislation that would stop it. I call bullsh*t.
He's a phony and a fraud. He's a d*amned Chicago machine politician, no messiah and a h*ll of a lot less progressive than many other members of Congress.
No, I ain't sold on Barack Obama. He's leveraged race-baiting, sexism, Clinton hatred and shady primary tactics to gain the nomination. He got what he wanted. Rewarding him (and his supporters) for his (and their) actions would amount to acquiescence to the fraud. No thanks. He needs to lose and learn from his hubris. The Republican party uses those kinds dirty tricks and prejudices to win. I won't condone the same actions coming from a Democratic candidate. No way.
Nader or McKinney. No McCain. No Obama.