House to vote on importance of Christmas, Christianity

Well, it's not like they have anything important to do.

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/8819

House to vote on importance of Christmas, Christianity

Who says Congress doesn’t do anything?

On Tuesday, the House will vote on a resolution recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

We’re going out on a limb and predicting this one will pass.

It’s sponsored by Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa. And it has 51 cosponsors: two Democrats and 49 Republicans, including Missouri Republican Rep. Todd Akin and Kansas Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt.

The resolution is below the fold:

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world; Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population; Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population; Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible; Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization; Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity; Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ; Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives--(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

Sheesh.

double sheesh...as if Jesus gives a shit anyways.

Man, thats a lot of people I need to kil-- I mean, "enlighten"...

:D

I kid!

well, I'm glad us evil secularists were wrong about the stealth campaign by Fallwell et al to infiltrate our governmental institutions setting the stage for an eventual Christian Theocracy.

:sarcasm:

That's entirely ridiculous. Entirely. Let's get some votes on bringing the troops home or investigating the Administration's illegal activity instead. Sheesh!!

This is so stupid.

Like in an article from Australia last week. A store told Santas to say "ha ha ha" since "ho" is slang for whore and people might be offended. I mean, really! Puts a whole different slant on Santa. Maybe I should lobby congress?

Yeah I think this one will pass.

"acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of western civilization" - yeah like burnings at the cross and the Spanish Inquisition? Hmmm

"rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide" - UH how about rejecting bigotry and persecution directed against EVERYONE?

it's ridiculous. It would be impossible for the government to persecute Christians seeing as the VAST majority of the government is made up of Christians.

What an incredible waste of time and what an insult to the rest of the country.

IMHO this violates separation of church and state and the formation of a state supported religion.

Disgusting

Moveon.org because they told the truth..

Every fucking Christmas time we have to put up with incessant whining about how OPPRESSED they are. Oh fucking please. They have NO clue what it means to be discriminated against for your faith.

As Wiccan Woman let me just say " Cry me a river you weak, pathetic ASSHATS!"

This is not aimed at all Christians, just those who seem convinced they are oppressed. My suggest to them is to go seek some mental health assistance, they could use it to control their paranoid delusions.

You're all so feisty! :P


And for some reason the DU's spellchecker doesn't recognize "Wiccan".

:cry:

Fiesty? Yup..... We don't take any crap.

:rofl:

The Bully in the yard, sitting on a smaller kid who manages to get a knee into the bully's backside. Oh how dreadfully oppressed the bully is!

yeah Riiiiiight. :puke:

--er, ex-friend!--17 months ago, when I told her she needed psychiatric help for her many conspiracy beliefs and her "new earth" creationism. She went off and married a guy she'd "met" on a "Christian" match-up website, after corresponding with him by phone and email for only 4 months. I told her she was nuts and she had proved it completely by the time I told her.

So, yeah--there are people out there masquerading as sane, but in fact need straitjackets more than patients in a sanitarium.

on behalf of ALL my spiritual predecessors: Cry me a river, you asshats! You wanna know about persecution, assholes? You wanna know about martyrdom? Well, let me remind you of a few little things...

Rome didn't have enough lions. LOL

Jesus Mc Jesus.* These people are the majority,and they deserve these resolutions to confirm the fact they are a majority and those damn Muslims haven't taken over-though ALLAH knows they tried.

*Mc Jesus is in spell check-proving something, I'm not sure what.

Yup....that says alot.

As is MC 900 Ft Jesus. Spell-check "mchammer" and it'll be corrected to "mc hammer."

THIS is what my tax dollars are paying for? I wonder how the Muslims, Jews, Atheists, Agnostics and Buddhists will vote?

This is freakin' ridiculous. When will the "Muslim is the greatest religion" resolution be voted on? When will "Judaism is the greatest religion" be voted on? When will the "We respect all people who choose not to worship" resolution be voted on? When will the "Buddha is the greatest" resolution be voted on?

Assholes! This country is NOT made up of Christians ONLY and they have no fucking right to waste our money on this kind of crap....UNLESS and UNTIL they INCLUDE ALL RELIGIONS in this country.

I just want to go to sleep until after December 25. These people are freakin' insane.

or if there will just be a whole pile of Yeas, with a bunch of abstentions.

Sid

You probably won't need them all.

,...your religion upon others: just assert persecution.

It's sad.

It's sick.

Actually, it's evil because it's manipulative.

How is that "Christian"?

:shrug: I just do not get it.

get it, you're supposed to do it. That's simple, right? :sarcasm:

to show how this Christian nation deals with criminals that torture and lie by incarcerating the criminals that have broken a commandment by stealing ours rights and occupying the White House. :dem:

and Jews yet? Or Agnostics? Or any other non-Christians? I no longer recognize my own country.

So this is what they're spending their oh-so-short December session on?

And the Republicans have the NERVE to complain about how nothing is being passed?

What a bunch of idiots.

Now, therefore be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives--(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

:puke:

I wonder what role Christianity had in the founding of the United States, given that the majority of the founding fathers were deists and generally were not friends of Christianity (Jefferson wrote that the New Testament was written by "monkish and unlettered men").

Methinks this is just cheap political pandering at the expense of anyone who happens to not be a Christian.

and inappropriate. Congress has no obligation or right to acknowledge ANY religion in its daily tasks and duties.

This vote speaks for itself and it says volumes about what turns many folks off about organized religion.

amazing... unfriging amazing. I want to go back to the times when Congress stood in session on DECEMBER 25th, and new members were issues a copy of Jefferson's bible

THIS is what our elected representatives waste our tax dollars doing? We've got people out of work, a health care crisis, wars, envirnomental issues, and some half-witted, needless resolution on religion is made a priority?

This country is collectively out of its fucking mind.

Like commemorating the new Girl Scout merit badges.

Is their anyone left in this whole totalitarian enslaved nation that has actually READ the Founding Fathers?

Medeval Christians had NOTHING to do with the founding of the Old American Republic, other than some of the Founding Fathers were Christians, albeit skeptical Liberal Christains, not BushChristian.

They loathed BushChristians becaise BushChristians had been on a murderous Witch Burning rampage for 200 years. BushChristians killed and maimed and tortured hundreds of thousands of Jews during this time.

What a disgusting, disgraceful slap in the face to our Founding Fathers, who were so afraid of Evil Bushies putting the weak-minded and gullible BushChristians (not to be confused with Christians) into mental harness and using them to destroy Liberty that they wrote the Constitution to try and prevent it from ever happening.

I men, what bigotry and persecution? Are all those BushChristian Confederates persecuted because all their African-American victims bled all over them?

God, waht a sad, sickening, and medeval state our nation is in.

It had an important role. Without Christian influences of the day there is no doubt the founding fathers would not of work so hard to keep religion out of the United States Government. Thank you Christianity for being so oppressive our founding father chose not to found the country based on your religion.

"Thank you Christianity for being so oppressive our founding fathers chose not to found the country based on your religion."

And thank you, Johonny, for giving me my new email sig.

;-)

From the state-sponsored Church (of which there was only one).

Now there is only one State Sponsored Church in the US yet again,

and it is the Evangelical Theocracy of Southern white racists.

Such state-sponsored religions are little more than one more
tool of oppression, used to co-opt an entire ideology, like using
Communism to justify Kronstadt or democracy to justify killing in Iraq.

Don't get how your statement says I'm wrong. I never argued they weren't religious.

the snake oil, pro-greed, anti-civil rights nostrums of their Southern white sister churches.

Many theorists (Republicans among them) see the so-called pathology of the inner city as no more than a displaced extension of the pathology of the Southern rural white culture. There is no distinction to be drawn between the violence and greed endemic and glorified in modern day fundamentalist religious culture. The modern upper middle class reflect it in their abandonment of the poor for heavily armed, gated communities.

that many DUers can't seem to muster much sympathy for a few--as Tahitinut so eloquently put it--"highly localized lead-assisted raptures."

What part of "Congress shall make no law" do they not get? This shit will not stop until the Christians themselves tell it to stop. Until then, one can only assume that the majority of Christians are complicit and more concerned about the appearance of piety than they are the preservation of their country's Constitution.

money voting on this?

Now if they were voting on the importance of religion/government separation, it would be meaningful and appropriate.

:wtf:

Jesus, these people are a waste of oxygen.

To quote from one of my favorite movies, Aliens:

Hudson: Let's just bug out and call it even, OK? What are we talking about this for?
Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Hudson: Fuckin' A...
Burke: Ho-ho-hold on, hold on one second. This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it.
Ripley: They can *bill* me.

. . .Heaven forbids the bans of marriage between church and state; their embraces therefore, must be unlawful. Guard against those men who make a great noise about religion, in choosing representatives. It is electioneering. If they knew the nature and worth of religion, they would not debauch it to such shameful purposes. If pure religion is the criterion to denominate candidates, those who make a noise about it must be rejected; for their wrangle about it, proves that they are void of it. Let honesty, talents and quick dispatch, characterize the men of your choice. Such men will have a sympathy with their constituents, and will be willing to come to the light, that their deeds may be examined. . . .

July 4th Oration by John Leland, July 5, 1802

So stop politicizing it already with your phony "war"!

There's a REAL war that needs your attention to end!!!

than impeachment, repairing bridges, providing homes for people in NOLA, etc.
:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:
:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:
:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

I read a thread on this earlier & thought it was satire. As an atheist this enrages me.

Highly unlikely.

I swear to God (quite literally), I've had it with those who've "found" Him. I wish I could smite them myself some days. :mad: EFFING :mad:!

:hi:

out of our government?

Because they're deep shit and they want to change the subject..isn't there something in our Constitution about seperation of church and State?

poor, poor Christians...

What a disgusting tactic to infuse religion into law, and to even claim that this is needed tells me they want a theocracy so they can jam christianity down all non-christians throats. Our forefathers are puking in their graves.

..

And I'm outspoken about being religious:

a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Strike one. Christianity did not call for the founding of a secular republic led by plutocrats, however much the Christian faith of various citizens may have affected its development as such.

Christan faith DID inspire the Founding Fathers to side with Jefferson and Adams on the separation of church and state, knowing it was in the interests of allowing true Protestant (by definition anti-establishment) churches to flourish. The modern Southern Baptist Coalition is the ultimate perversion of religion, being founded on an attempt to justify the militarism and economic supremacy of the Southern business elite.

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible; ... Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ; Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God's redemption, mercy, and Grace; and Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others:

Strike two. This is establishmentarian: the government is not merely establishing but defining Christmas.

Now, therefore be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives--(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world ; (2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide ;

Strike three.

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization ;

Strike four and WRONG WRONG WRONG. Christmas had nothing whatsoever to do with the formation of Western style nationalism, militarism and state theocracy, which goes against the ideal of Jesus Christ. Christmas was actually banned by the Puritans.

I don't want the christian faith running my country any more.

We're always being told that the house has too much important business affecting the very foundations of the republic to have time to even consider impeachment. So here's a random sample, from the official House clerk's web site, of the vital business conducted on behalf of the people of the United States today (all emphasis mine):

H. Res. 853:
honoring those who have volunteered to assist in the cleanup of the November 7, 2007, oil spill in San Francisco Bay

3:44 P.M. -
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

3:37 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 853.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mrs. Tauscher moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H. Res. 661:
honoring the accomplishments of Barrington Antonio Irving, the youngest pilot and first person of African descent ever to fly solo around the world (now that's controversial, being a black man and all)

3:36 P.M. -
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

3:25 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 661.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Oberstar moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.


H. Con. Res. 261:
commemorating the centennial anniversary of the sailing of the Navy's "Great White Fleet," launched by President Theodore Roosevelt on December 16, 1907, from Hampton Roads, Virginia, and returning there on February 22, 1909 (And speaking of controversial, this was one of the most blatantly racist demonstrations of US imperialism in history. Naturally, the house approved the resolution, but not without the customary 40 minutes of debate.)

2:40 P.M. -
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

2:36 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Con. Res. 261.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

S. 597:
to extend the special postage stamp for breast cancer research for 2 years

2:25 P.M. -
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

2:20 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 597.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

2:19 P.M. -
Mr. Davis (IL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

H. Res. 695:
expressing the support for designation of a "National Fire Fighter Appreciation Day" to honor and celebrate the fire fighters of the United States

2:18 P.M. -
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

2:10 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 695.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

2:09 P.M. -
Mr. Davis (IL) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

H. Con. Res. 215:
supporting the designation of a week as "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week"

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.

2:05 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Con. Res. 215.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

H.R. 4009:
to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 567 West Nepessing Street in Lapeer, Michigan, as the "Turrill Post Office Building"

2:04 P.M. -
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. (no 40 minutes of debate?)

H. Con. Res. 215:
supporting the designation of a week as "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Awareness Week"

Mr. Davis (IL) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

H.R. 4009:
to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 567 West Nepessing Street in Lapeer, Michigan, as the "Turrill Post Office Building"

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

1:57 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4009.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Clay moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. (Hear hear! Fine job!)

H. Res. 785:
recognizing the 100th Anniversary of Robstown, Texas

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

1:56 P.M. -
On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

1:49 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 785.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

H. Con. Res. 264:
honoring the University of Hawaii for its 100 years of commitment to public higher education

1:48 P.M. -
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

H. Con. Res. 264:
honoring the University of Hawaii for its 100 years of commitment to public higher education

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

1:33 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Con. Res. 264.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

1:32 P.M. -
Ms. Hirono moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.

H. Res. 768:
honoring the life of Thomas "Tommy" Makem (I can get behind this one)

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

1:26 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 768.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

1:25 P.M. -
Ms. Shea-Porter moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.


H. Res. 847:
recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

1:13 P.M. -
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

1:04 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 847.

Considered under suspension of the rules.

1:03 P.M. -
Mr. Meeks (NY) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

H. Res. 708:
honoring the life and accomplishments of Luciano Pavarotti and recognizing the significant and positive impact of his astounding musical talent, his achievement in raising the profile of opera with audiences around the world, and his commitment to charitable causes (I can support this one without reservation)

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

12:52 P.M. -
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 708. (debate on this one??)

Considered under suspension of the rules.

Mr. Meeks (NY) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.


And on and on and on... They're like the damn energizer bunny; they just go on and on and on and seemingly never tire of their fight on behalf of the American people to name post offices after dead guys nobody's ever heard of.


wp

:crazy: Wow. Just...wow.

this resolution is dangerous.

HUH, HUH

TRY THIS LINK.

I DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/summer97/secular.html

Of some Christians?

This is SO unconstitutional, it isn't funny. Congress has NO RIGHT whatsoever to take a stand on ANY religion - pro or con. There have been wonderful contributions by Christians to this country, and there have been some Christians who committed abominations, but to single out any religion for a Congressional resolution spits in the face of our nation's founders.

I don't see any movement to acknowledge the contributions of Hindus. Moslems, Buddhists, Jews, Pagans or Atheists. And I wouldn't want one. That's not our government's business.

If you want a frigging theocracy go found your own damned country. This one's already taken.

Sheesh.

Just. Fuck. Me.

Will it never end? :banghead:

Dem or Repub?

The early Church Fathers could not suppress the winter celebrations, so they co-opted them and "christianized" them.

One of the earliest ME solstice celebration is Shab-e Yalda, celebrated by the ancient Persians. (lots of info on Google) Some of the elements are surprisingly familiar- lights, family, food, greenery, (re)birth of the sun, bonfires, etc.

Incidentally, Shab-e Yalda is what I plan to celebrate, with a large bonfire.

Congress has much more important things it should be doing, rather than piddling about, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

The most obvious prototypes of American democracy are all in pagan societies -- Classical Greece, parts of northwest Europe (particularly Iceland), the Iroquois confederacy.

The Christian churches, in contrast, derived from the Roman Empire. They were hierarchical, authoritarian, and elitist. Christianity from the start incorporated a strong strain of eastern despotism and unquestioning deference to authority that is completely antithetical to democracy.

The European countries where democracy and social pluralism took root earliest and most deeply were those where Christianity had arrived latest and most superficially. In contrast, the parts of Europe which were most deeply and unshakably Christian -- primarily Spain and Italy -- were also the home of the Inquisition and the seedbed of 20th century fascism.

It is true that the Protestant churches of northwest Europe picked up a certain democratic, self-governing strain that they then conveyed to the American colonies. But that strain derived from the strong pagan roots of the countries where Protestantism flourished, and represented a rejection of the imperial church. There was nothing genuinely "Christian" about it.

although by law they both declare war AND control the purse, they can't end a thoroughly illegal and immoral war, but they make time for this kind of tripe? . . . God help us all . . .