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12-11-2007, 02:05 AM
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Karma is Rael
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Paradise Park
Gender: Bender
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Even more church-state activism for me now
Hi ! I got some great news today and I thought I would share it with you all.
I was elected to the National Advisory Council of Americans United for Separation of Church and State! I am so pleased and honored. I'm not really all that "good" at church-state stuff, I mean, I can research things online to answer questions in email or on forums, but I'm not so hot "off the cuff" if someone asks me church-state questions in real life. I recently spoke on behalf of AU at a meeting of the Secular Student Alliance at University of Delaware, and the students asked me things that I couldn't just answer off the top of my head.
When AU first told me I had been nominated, I thought that I wasn't really qualified for the position, which is a 3-year term on AU's NAC. But when they sent me the list of requirements for NAC members, I realized that I was already engaged in the activities that NAC members are supposed to do: namely, searching for and reporting church-state violations to AU's national office; keeping abreast of news stories and issues, and speaking out in my local paper on the op/ed page when church-state issues arise. So I accepted the nomination, and I got my letter today, informing me that I was elected to the NAC.
So, what that means for is that when I lurk here I will be on the lookout for threads about church-state issues. If any of you are ever so inclined, feel free to PM me to alert me to important threads or news stories. And if any of you ever witness a church-state violation in your school, town, or state, contact me! I will be glad to help.
This is some pretty cool news for me and I am really excited about it, I hope that I am sharing my joy in the correct forum. I hope I do a good job for Americans United.
Any of you can ask me anything about AU or church-state separation; if I don't know the answer, I will find out for you. I remain at your service and I rely on people like you for inspiration and information. Thanks!
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12-11-2007, 02:09 AM
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rude, crude, lewd, and unsophisticated
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Puddle City, Cascadia
Gender: Male
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Get rid of anything and everything tainted with the "Faith-Based Initiatives".
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12-11-2007, 02:18 AM
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Strabismic Ungulate
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: college
Gender: Male
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Congratulations, ELGS.
__________________
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12-11-2007, 02:25 AM
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Karma is Rael
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Paradise Park
Gender: Bender
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Quote:
Originally Posted by godfry n. glad
Get rid of anything and everything tainted with the "Faith-Based Initiatives".
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Oh man, the FBCI is a personal pet peeve of mine, and Americans United filed an amicus brief in the recent Supreme Court case that did not end well for our side.
See here: Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I actually pulled my kids out of school and took them to DC on February 28 to show my support for the groups that filed this suit. We lost. I do not quite know what this means for the future of lawsuits about abuses of the faith-based funding system. In my work with both Americans United and other groups, I have seen testimony from individuals who say that they were required to participate in religious services in order to receive assistance from some groups that receive FBCI funds.
Americans United, FFRF, the American Humanist Association, and other secular groups are fighting hard to tackle the faith-based funding problem. These groups would benefit from your membership dollars to support their work in the legal and legislative forefront. If you need more info about the benefits of membership in any such organization, please ask, I am a member of almost all of them. Americans United is strictly a church-state group, not an "atheist group," and its legal department has been very proactive in working on church-state issues and cases. Hey, if any of you guys happen to join any of these groups, tell them that Janice Rael sent you. That would make my day!
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12-11-2007, 02:49 AM
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Babby Police
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
At question was whether taxpayers have the right to challenge the existence of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
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Who writes this stuff. Article III standing isn't a "right"; it has to do with whether the Supreme Court, and by extension the lower federal courts, are empowered to hear a dispute involving parties whose status as litigants don't meet the "cases or controversies" requirement of Article III.
And it wasn't the "existence" of the White House office that was challenged. The question revolved on whether the plaintiffs, if they did have standing, could reach the activities of the Executive generally, since the precedent -- Flast -- addressed acts of Congress.
Flast, incidentally, remains intact. And if it's true that some recipients of government dough are required as a precondition to swear sectarian allegiance, then there are other means of challenging such preconditions.
__________________
My dwarves will refudiate.
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12-11-2007, 02:53 AM
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professional left-winger
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
This is great news, ELGS. Congratulations. You'll do a great job.
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12-11-2007, 03:00 AM
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Adequately Crumbulent
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cascadia
Gender: Male
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
You should edit the article, DS and fix it.
ELGS: Congrats! I'm sure you'll do great! Do you know if AU or any other organization has information available on presidential or other political candidates and their views and histories regarding CSS issues?
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12-11-2007, 03:05 AM
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Babby Police
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
I couldn't be bothered. There's enough intelligent commentary on Hein and other cases that Wikipedia should be anybody's last resort. For example. Wikipedia is maintained by amateurs. It's handy, but frequently misleading.
__________________
My dwarves will refudiate.
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12-11-2007, 03:06 AM
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Adequately Crumbulent
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cascadia
Gender: Male
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
But who's ever heard of ... ( oops heh )... those other places? Everyone knows Wikipedia.
Last edited by Crumb; 12-11-2007 at 03:19 AM.
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12-11-2007, 04:49 PM
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Quote:
Originally Posted by EverLastingGodStopper
Quote:
Originally Posted by godfry n. glad
Get rid of anything and everything tainted with the "Faith-Based Initiatives".
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Oh man, the FBCI is a personal pet peeve of mine, and Americans United filed an amicus brief in the recent Supreme Court case that did not end well for our side.
I actually pulled my kids out of school and took them to DC on February 28 to show my support for the groups that filed this suit. We lost. I do not quite know what this means for the future of lawsuits about abuses of the faith-based funding system. In my work with both Americans United and other groups, I have seen testimony from individuals who say that they were required to participate in religious services in order to receive assistance from some groups that receive FBCI funds.
Americans United, FFRF, the American Humanist Association, and other secular groups are fighting hard to tackle the faith-based funding problem. These groups would benefit from your membership dollars to support their work in the legal and legislative forefront. If you need more info about the benefits of membership in any such organization, please ask, I am a member of almost all of them. Americans United is strictly a church-state group, not an "atheist group," and its legal department has been very proactive in working on church-state issues and cases. Hey, if any of you guys happen to join any of these groups, tell them that Janice Rael sent you. That would make my day!
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Here's part of the problem right here, as shown by the highligted phrase ... The ONLY reason to call something "faith-based" is to try to put it over euphemistically on the public as something other than what it *IS* -- which is " religious." People should stop letting the theocrats subvert and coopt language in this way. Stop saying "faith-based" -- the word is "religious."
#1511
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12-11-2007, 07:05 PM
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rude, crude, lewd, and unsophisticated
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Puddle City, Cascadia
Gender: Male
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Ramen.
I'd be willing to wager that there's some exclusivity in which faiths get access to "faith-based" initiative monies, too.
Next up.... Faith-based defense.
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12-11-2007, 07:53 PM
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Just keep m'nose clean, egg, chips & beans, I'm always full of steam
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: so far out, I'm too far in
Gender: Bender
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Re: Even more church-state activism for me now
Well, of course. We can't be calling infidels (godless communists, Moozlums, face-to-face dancers, et al.) "faith-based," now can we?
__________________
"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine
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