I’m evil, I’m sooooo evil- quick pass me another child to corrupt.

HAA HAA HAA HAA.

Watched a few of the others- he seems to really enjoy doing them!

Finally IL has a claim to fame

And a Democrat, for crying out loud. There goes the neighborhood.

Generally a big fan of Olbermann.

I do wish there were more people like him.

I still say he reminds me of Clark Kent.

All is well: Lawmaker Apologizes For Comments Against Atheist

State Rep. Jack Franks was chairing the hearing that day and says Davis’ outburst was uncharacteristic, adding “she was having a bad day.”

See? She just had a bad day and made a public spectacle out of her private opinions and lack of historical knowledge. Well, at least she called the witness and apologized…

*shrug*

“See? Democrats are bigots too, so that makes my lips firmly attached to the religious Right perfectly normal! I’m not doing anything wrong, even Democrats hate atheists!”

The damage is done, and she can apologize all she want and it wouldn’t mean anything more than if Dick Cheney died and suddenly started hanging out with Yoda again.

You don’t make things right with apologies, you make things right by not doing things you have to apologize for.

I wrote her a snail mail (email does not have any mass) and cc’d (again on paper) her associated state senator.  Basically said “apologize or leave”.

I found it most interesting that she claimed the state was built upon “God”.  What about the massacre and forced relocation of Native Americans?

What about the massacre and forced relocation of Native Americans?

That was God’s work too, bowdwn5.  At least that’s what the Christians responsible for the massacres often claimed.  Of course, you will immediately say that they were “deluded”, or perhaps not “real” Christians, just as the slaveholders who cited the Bible to support slavery were “deluded”.  But two things: first, can you prove they were not doing God’s work?  The Old Testament, as you presumably know, is full of God-inspired genocide and slavery is condoned.  And second: my main concern, and I daresay that of many people, is not what people believe, but how they behave.  I actually don’t give a rat’s ass whether the “true” interpretation of the Bible (or the Koran, or whatever) leads believers to be peaceful or warlike:  what matters to me is whether people are good to one another and their planet.  And religions, “rightly” or “wrongly”, have often inspired bad behavior.

Zilch,

Can I prove that these practices are not the work of God?  No.  In my odd brand of Christianity, I find the Bible and mankind to be inherently fallible.  If God gave us reason I think he did so with the intention of us using it.  Consequently, slavery, colonization and violence are delusions. 

It is presumptive but I found it interesting that a woman of color would claim that Illinois was founded by God.  People of color have always been able to identify biblical contradictions.  Thusly, I found it odd that she would assert that Illinois was founded by God when in actuality it was founded on genocide.  And while we’re at it, Illinois wasn’t without a legacy of slavery either.  Given her race and gender, I found this ommision more glaring than her ignorance of tidbits of Lincoln history.

That Lincoln was no fan of religion is hardly a secret.  And she doesn’t seem to know much Illinois history either.  I wouldn’t be making claims for the piety of this state if I were her and I wanted to make Christianity look good.

@ DOF

“I hate Illinois Nazis.”

DOF,

I agree, she shouldn’t be making statements based on the inherent piety of Illinois or of Lincoln.  However, I do think that her ignorance of Lincoln is less egregious.  Your point about Lincoln’s stance on religion is well-taken, however the dominant discourse in America is one of Lincoln praying for help during the civil war, freeing the slaves and being “Honest Abe”.  I agree that this is a misreading of Lincoln but given American manipulations of history, I find her mistake to be a common one.

Piffle.  If you hold elected office you should have a better-than-average grasp of history.

Piffle.  If you hold elected office you should have a better-than-average grasp of history.

True but everything a politician does and says is meant for the masses. At the end of the day, she’s still a politician, isn’t she?

I think in this case she was revealing her true feelings.  Could be wrong of course but she really seemed ‘under the influence’ of her anger.

Usually, though, sure enough.  Politicians script for the audience. 

As someone over on Friendly Atheist observed, what about all the people on that tape who seem to be cheering her on?

Right, I don’t think it would be out of hand to get an apology from everyone there.