religious fanatics eh?

It is insane, isn't it?

Mmm ... well, I believe that Americans have an appalling propensity for stupidity and arrogance and that a lot of stuff which purports to be "biblical christianity" is redneck ranting, and that Bush is a disgraceful advert for religion of any kind for reasons which continually appear here and elsewhere... HOWEVER, it's still a country where people can follow any religion or none, and a day of prayer and fasting wouldn't be compulsory or a cause for hassling people as it is in certain places during Ramadan. Also prayer and fasting is a counter to self-indulgence and, if accompanied by some genuine humility, would be no bad thing especially in the U.S. at the moment.

Well said by Neil, but as much as I like to rationalize, I don't think there's any room for negotiation on this one. Our Christian "Right" -- particularly the born-agains -- is too apocalyptic for the World's good. Why bother with the environment when the Rapture will take you to bigger and greener fields? Plus they're horrible dressers. And their men wear Aqua Velva cologne.

sigh... please don't lump us all into one mass category. :) That said, if the bill is passed (which it won't be... we're not all fanatical)... then that would pretty much sign my ticket out of this land. Viva la Canada!

And furthermore, a recent rant from a friend: "I cannot see how anyone calling themselves a Christian can be for this war. THAT is proof to me that these turds do not understand their 'faith' nor do they take it seriously. They only use it ON others though it never seems to apply to the 'believer'. It's a Bible Buffet...pick and choose that which you like! Oh the convenience of christ! But then again Bush talks to God regularly. He hears god talk back too! We are America, we have the best god and we are protected by that best god. NA NA! holy sh*t. It seems like a leader would and should be of sound mind and one who does not talk to an imaginary friend in the sky. yes, holy sh*t indeed. *********** So, my friend tends to exaggerate a bit, but the holier-than-thous truly are a scourge in this country...

I think the bill is good-natured, but ... I agree ... it is stupid. Even if it's passed (which it won't, considering the words "under God" are nearly striken from the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms) nobody's going to observe it, except maybe for the media. Heck, I'm a Christian and I can say already that I would forget that it is there. And the day somebody gets America to fast, well...

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/gbhair1.html hysterical..... jmparisi passed this to me a minute ago... what a fantastic giggle for so early in the morning.

http://home.attbi.com/~no-spam/Beer.swf completely unrelated to this thread....but funny...

'... to seek guidance from God to achieve a greater understanding of our own failings and to learn how we can do better in our everyday activities...' That sounds quite positive, providing it's not mandatory. The only slightly uh-oh bit was: '... to gain resolve in meeting the challenges that confront our Nation...' Hmm. Sounds uber-euphemistic. For 'gain resolve' read 'be more patriotic', for 'be more patriotic' read 'question the government's actions less', for 'question the government's actions less' read... well, you can see where it's going. In that light, the other parts of the bill seem like the equivalent of drugged shoulders of pork to placate the guard dogs. Please please please, someone restore my beleagured [sic] faith and show me an example where a theocracy or pseudo-theocracy, or even a close partnership between religion and state has yielded positive results.

http://www.stopesso.com/funstuff/nose.html another fun site....Stop Esso

A friend emailed me the following ‘apology’ to President Bush from an irate country singer. It seems to encapsulate the double standard being encouraged on both sides of the Atlantic: Free Speech is great - so long as it's patriotic. Apology from Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I now realize that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. I hope everyone understands, I’m just a young girl who grew up in Texas. As far back as I can remember, I heard people say they were ashamed of President Clinton. I saw bumper stickers calling him everything from a pothead to a murderer. I heard people on the radio and TV like Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott bad mouthing the President and ridiculing his wife and daughter at every opportunity. I heard LOTS of people disrespecting the President. So I guess I just assumed it was acceptable behaviour. But now, thanks to the thousands of angry people who want radio stations to boycott our music because criticizing the President is unpatriotic, I realize it’s wrong to have a liberal opinion if you’re a country music artist. I guess I should have thought about that before deciding to play music that attracts hypocritical red necks. I also realize now that I’m supposed to just sing and look cute so our fans won’t have anything to upset them while they’re cheating on their wives or getting in drunken bar fights or driving around in their pickup trucks shooting highway signs and small animals. And most important of all, I realize that it’s wrong for a celebrity to voice a political opinion, unless they’re Charlie Daniels, Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Barbara Mandrel, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr, Amy Grant, Larry Gatlin, Crystal Gayle, Reba McIntyre, Lee Greenwood, Lorrie Morgan, Anita Bryant, Mike Oldfield, Ted Nugent, Wayne Newton, Dick Clark, Jay Leno, Drew Carey, Dixie Carter, Victoria Jackson, Charlton Heston, Fred Thompson, Ben Stein, Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bo Derek, Rick Schroeder, George Will, Pat Buchanan, Bill O’Reilly, Joe Rogan, Delta Burke, Robert Conrad or Jesse Ventura. God Bless America, Natalie

What's this? Country singers with brains, wit and courage?? And I thought it was all redneck rubbish.

It's so odd for Brits to discuss a country where religion counts for something. Less than 2% of our population attend church regularily and that seems to permeate through to members of other religions who, once they move here, seem to become less religous or less zealous about their religion. that, I think, is one of the great things abut this country - as it leads to a greater tolerance all round. Now I am no apologist for GBLtd. I think it has many many faults but the way in which we, like most of the rest of Europe, has swung away from religious zeal over the past 50 years is impressive and to be applauded. If people choose to follow any particular religion or creeed, fine by me, but please please don't try and tell me about it and don't bring any of it anywhere near government - it always ends in tears.