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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Dos Equis on June 26, 2008, 01:57:01 PM
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ACLU Attacks Midshipmen Prayer
Thursday, June 26, 2008 11:31 AM
By: Jim Meyers
The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to file suit against the U.S. Naval Academy over the school’s daily lunchtime prayer.
Nine midshipmen at the academy asked the ACLU to petition the school to do away with the prayers, saying that some midshipmen have felt pressured to participate.
The ACLU sent a letter to the Annapolis, Md., school saying it was “long past time” for the academy to abolish the traditional prayer, contending it violates midshipmen’s freedom to practice religion as they see fit.
The Naval Academy rejected the ACLU’s request, saying in a statement: “The academy does not intend to change its practice of offering midshipmen an opportunity for prayer or devotional thought during noon meal announcements.”
Some form of prayer has been offered for midshipmen at meals since the school’s founding in 1845, and it is “consistent with other practices throughout the Navy,” according to the statement.
One recent academy graduate, an agnostic who objected to the chaplain-led prayer, said she felt pressured to participate in the prayer at lunch, where attendance is mandatory.
“Everybody else is participating with their heads bowed and their arms crossed,” she told The Washington Post.
“It became very obvious that you aren’t participating.”
She also said that midshipmen who want to pray at lunch “have the option to pray on their own. There’s no reason they should subject everybody … to this prayer.”
Another recent graduate, who is now an atheist, told The New York Times that whether officers make participating in the prayer voluntary or not, “they make it very clear that this is the standard, and the standard is Judaism or Christianity. I feel it’s inappropriate to have this in a public institution.”
If the ACLU proceeds with its lawsuit, it’s likely to base its case on a ruling by a federal appeals court, which in 2003 struck down the Virginia Military Institute’s mealtime prayer as unconstitutional.
The Naval Academy flap is not the only instance of religious practice creating controversy at a U.S. military academy.
Cadets and officers at West Point have told The Times that until recently, cadets who did not attend religious services during basic training were sometimes referred to as “heathens,” and they complained that mandatory banquets began with prayer.
Back in August 2005, the Air Force released new guidelines for religious tolerance that discourage public prayer at official functions.
The guidelines were drawn up after allegations that evangelical Christians wielded so much influence at the Air Force Academy in Colorado that anti-Semitism and other forms of religious harassment became pervasive.
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/ACLU__Midshipmen_Prayer/2008/06/26/107582.html
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wow, glad the ACLU is primarily supported by Republicans, I'd hate to be behind that BS.
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Where 'd u get that. In any event the ACLU can go screw themselves. Maybe the whiny Midshipmen should leave the school and payback their free education. I'm sure we can do without them.
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Where 'd u get that. In any event the ACLU can go screw themselves. Maybe the whiny Midshipmen should leave the school and payback their free education. I'm sure we can do without them.
actually it's true, the primary finacial support for the ACLU comes from Republican donors. I don't get it, if you guys buy it, why do you bitch about is so much :-\
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actually it's true, the primary finacial support for the ACLU comes from Republican donors. I don't get it, if you guys buy it, why do you bitch about is so much :-\
Cause they're friggin retards who must be "whacked" in order for our country to survive?
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Actually most Libs are whiny pussies so it would be u guys that would be in trouble. U guys hate guns and the military so its going to be pretty hard to do anything.
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actually it's true, the primary finacial support for the ACLU comes from Republican donors. I don't get it, if you guys buy it, why do you bitch about is so much :-\
Without getting into a usless pissing contest..prove this please.
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Actually most Libs are whiny pussies so it would be u guys that would be in trouble. U guys hate guns and the military so its going to be pretty hard to do anything.
I have my meltdowns but I don't think I fit the "whiny pussies" category. I don't hate guns and don't know any who do, but that's probably because of where I live. I do think liberals have a pussy image. They need to fix that shit. There are some real limp dick republicans and all the credit goes to dems and libs, that's just not entirely based in fact.
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yesterday I wanted to find out what it would be like being a psycho rigthwing liar. wow, that did feel good to be able to just sit here and make my case by pulling whatever bullshit out of thin air that works :) ahhhh... you fellas have it good.
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They have no problem with NAMBLA but prayer is a threat to civil liberties?!
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where is proof of the repubs funding the ACLU? That is interesting. It would shut the Fck up a lot of people here who yell lib everytime the ACLU is mentioned, if proven true.
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I think he was fucking with us...read his last post.
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Yeah - fuck those soldiers who don't want to pray or feel pressured to pray.
They deserve to be riduculed for not praying to an appropriate god or any god.
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I think he was fucking with us...read his last post.
ya, this is true, but did you know Jag is a genius! :D
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Yeah - fuck those soldiers who don't want to pray or feel pressured to pray.
They deserve to be riduculed for not praying to an appropriate god or any god.
They don't make them pray, they just take time out.
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wow, check this out!
Conservative favorites to join ACLU
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The elder George Bush won the presidency against Michael Dukakis in 1988 in part by suggesting it was beyond-the-pale liberal to be "a card-carrying member" of the American Civil Liberties Union now the group is signing on as consultants two of the most flamboyant conservative Republicans in Congress.
But now the group is signing on as consultants two of the most flamboyant conservative Republicans in Congress:
Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, who was defeated in a primary election this year, called for President Clinton's impeachment before the Lewinsky affair was known. The American Conservative Union, which ranks members of Congress according to how they vote on issues important to conservatives, has given Barr a 100% rating.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, who is retiring, has skirmished with Democrats in often acid terms. In 1994, he told them that "your president is just not that important for us." His ACU rating is 97%.
"I'm sure it's taken many by surprise," Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said of the planned signing of the two when they leave office in January. He said they would play "a visible role" as well as work with ACLU staff. How much work they'll do and how much they'll be paid are still being worked out.
The ACLU often is in the center of controversy. In 1977 it defended the right of Nazis to march in Skokie, Ill., a heavily Jewish Chicago suburb with many Holocaust survivors. For decades it has defended gay and abortion rights, the rights of criminals and the mentally ill. It also defends civil liberties and the right to privacy, which is where its interests intersect with those of Armey and Barr.
Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's Washington office, said the group has been working with Barr since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. "He's been very concerned about the government's willingness to violate people's Fourth Amendment and privacy rights" and was "instrumental in preventing a lot of overboard wiretapping laws," she said.
Armey started working with the ACLU after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She said Armey was instrumental in making sure the new Homeland Security Act did not include a national ID card or Operation TIPS, a planned Terrorism Information and Prevention System in which people would phone in tips on suspect neighborhood activity. Murphy called it a "citizen spying corps."
The prominent additions could soften the ACLU's ultraliberal image. They are also a bow to the fact that Republicans will soon control both the White House and Congress. "We have to be realistic about what party's in power," Murphy said. "If we're going to affect federal policy ... we have to have access."
Armey and Barr may not be the last of the high-profile hires. Murphy said the ACLU has been talking to "soon-to-be ex-senators" from both parties. "Stay tuned for Democrats and Republicans," she said.
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ohhh!!! :o lol
ACLU Comes to Rush Limbaugh's Defense
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108140,00.html
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They don't make them pray, they just take time out.
the article had plenty of examples of people who felt pressured to pray and who were subject to criticism/ridicule for not participating
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Where 'd u get that. In any event the ACLU can go screw themselves. Maybe the whiny Midshipmen should leave the school and payback their free education. I'm sure we can do without them.
I agree with you. Fuck it, give thanks to not just your free food, but your free education as well.
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I agree with you. Fuck it, give thanks to not just your free food, but your free education as well.
FREE??
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World class education...5 years of service.
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World class education...5 years of service.
Yep. Guaranteed great job for five years.
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The Navy is uniquely special compared to the other services in this regard. When you're at sea, even if you're an atheist, you find that there's a quiet comfort in relying on something 'up there', especially when the seas get rough.
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Roger......no atheists in foxholes etc.
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FREE??
Trust me, come to Annapolis, and you will see how many of the midshipmen's parents roll. Porsche...check, Mercedes...Check. And then the sponsors, some midshipmen get to live "sponsors" houses, rent fucking free. And we ain't talking small cottages either, we talking some good size houses. And many date high school chicks.
They got it made (except the dating high school chicks part), and 5 years of services after they are done. Basically Free.
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And many date high school chicks. They got it made (except the dating high school chicks part),
LOL ;D
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If u didn't have to pay ur kids college I'd imagine u'd celebrate too. A few of my friends got their college savings as a gift when they graduated West Point.
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A few of my friends got their college savings as a gift when they graduated West Point.
Fair enough. If I don't have to pay for my kid's education, then she gets the money for something else later on.
They got it made (except the dating high school chicks part), and 5 years of PAID services after they are done. Basically Free.
Fixed.