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Survey: Moore only “secular” member of Kansas delegation
How secular is the Kansas congressional delegation? Not very, according to one organization.
The Secular Coalition for America has released its analysis of the religious leanings of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
The organization - composed, according to its Web site, of atheists, humanists and freethinkers - gave nearly every Republican member of the Kansas congressional delegation a 0 percent rating when rated for secularism. Rep. Dennis Moore, the only Democrat in the bunch, got a 90 percent score.
Here is the scorecard for the House members.
Here is the scorecard for the Senate members members.
The organization says: "The House and Senate Scorecards of the 109th Congress cover votes taken from January 2005 until August 2006. The SCA used ten key votes in both the House and Senate to make the scorecards. Votes include: allowing organizations to discriminate based on religion while using federal funds for secular programs; promoting narrow religious beliefs over secular needs in science, marriage contracts, and the military; the confirmation of judicial appointees who seek to weaken the protections provided by the Establishment Clause; and stripping federal courts of their ability to decide constitutional issues."
Other links:
Sam Brownback
(American Legion press release) War Vets Call on Americans to Urge Congress to Preclude Attacks on Veterans Memorials: Following markup of a bill by the House Judiciary Committee last week that would stop courts from awarding taxpayer dollars in attorney's fees in litigation against religious symbols on veterans memorials, the leader of the nation's largest wartime veterans organization today called on all Americans to urge their congressman and senators to pass it and a companion measure in the Senate. "With only 18 legislative days left in this Congress before the election recess, I ask every American that cherishes the religious heritage given to us by our Founding Fathers to take a minute today to call their Congressman and both Senators," said American Legion National Commander Paul A. Morin. ... HR 2679, the Public Expression of Religion Act introduced by Rep. John Hostettler and its companion piece in the Senate introduced by Sen. Sam Brownback as S. 3696, the "Veterans' Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals, and Other Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act of 2006," (PERA) would amend U.S. statutes to eliminate the chilling effect on the constitutionally protected expression of religion by state and local officials that results from the threat that potential litigants may seek damages and attorney's fees.
Jim Ryun
(AP) Wisconsin primary election results: In District 7 in north central Wisconsin, Nick Reid of Rice Lake, 26, a former press secretary for U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Kan., won the GOP nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Dave Obey, the Democrat who first won the office in a 1969 special election. Reid captured 59 percent of the vote in defeating Jeff Tyberg of Grantsburg, a 37-year-old truck driver and teen counselor.
How to contact
As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.
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13 September 2006
at 10:43 a.m.
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75x55 (Anonymous) says…
“Secular Coalition for America ”
Interesting bunch - seems like this SCA wishes to castigate people of faith for acting in accordance with their beliefs. Odd, too, that the supporters of this sort of organization are usually the first ones to point their fingers at people of faith who do not act in accordance with their beliefs, calling them 'phony' and 'hypocrites'.
13 September 2006
at 12:19 p.m.
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drewdun (Anonymous) says…
There's no problem with them 'acting in accordance with their beliefs.' Its when they begin to legislate their particular religious beliefs that trouble begins.
13 September 2006
at 12:22 p.m.
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GOPConservative (Anonymous) says…
Our representatives in Congress ought to represent ALL the people in their district, including mainstream Christians, such as Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and even non-Christians such as Jews, Muslims, Buddists and atheists.
We live in a constitutional democracy where, according to the Bill of Rights, our representatives should base their decisions on the consensus of the all people in their district, not just on how the “Mullahs” tell them to vote.
It is curious that we are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan when we have radical right-wing religious extremists like Jim Ryun and Sam Brownback here in America.
Their theocratic and socialistic viewpoint allows them to justify a rapidly-increasing National Debt and policies that are destroying the planet.
Of course, the American Taliban is more of a “Taliban light,” but the idea of creating a socialist and totalitarian government based on narrow religious viewpoints is the goal of both.
The supreme leader of the American Taliban is Pat Robertson. He created the Christian Coalition that put Jim Ryun and Sam Brownback in office.
If you tune into his 700 Club, there is really not much difference between what Pat preaches and what radical Mullahs in the Middle East preach. Both Pat and his counterparts in the Middle East want a theocracy. They both hate homosexuals and believe that women should be subservient to men.
Like the extremists in the Middle East, Pat has made proclamations that certain Supreme Court Justices need to be assassinated and that certain World Leaders need to be “taken out.” At first glance, Pat appears to be not quite as bad as Taliban, but his goals are pretty much the same.
Pat supports making the Muslim World hate the United States. Pat believes that stirring up hatred against the United States in the Middle East is necessary for a Holy War that he has divined as inevitable from his perverted interpretation of the Bible.
Pat and his followers believe that destroying the planet is essential for Jesus to return. Pat's counterparts, the radical extremist Mullahs of the Middle East, believe pretty much the same thing except they think it will be Mohammad instead of Jesus who will come to take the “saved” members of their cultish religion away in some kind of Rapture.
That's why it is so important for Pat and his counterparts in the Middle East to sew seeds of hate. Creating hatred between religions is essential to cause the world to end so that all but the “chosen” will be exterminated in a world-wide holocaust.
13 September 2006
at 1:25 p.m.
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DaveS (Anonymous) says…
Dear “GOP Conservative”:
We live in a Constitutional Republic (re-read your founding documents if you misplaced them) where we elect Representatives to go and make decisions on our behalf. Please tell me exactly where in the bill of rights does it require our elected Representatives to gain a consensus of their constituents before making a vote? Since I know you can't do that, let's move on. If we do not like the decisions they make on our behalf, we have a democratic process to vote to replace them. Thus ends your civics lesson.
13 September 2006
at 1:41 p.m.
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SettingTheRecordStraight (Anonymous) says…
GOPConservative,
With all respect, you are incorrect in stating that Members of Congress must, or even should, represent the views of all constituents.
Candidates declare their positions on issues while running for office, and we elect them or choose not to elect them based on what they promise to do if elected to office. Therefore, when we elect a Muslim to Congress, we know he will be voting as a Muslim, with a worldview shaped by his Muslim faith. A person doesn't abandon who they are or what they believe when they're elected to office.
Besides, it's absurd to think that a Member of Congress could possibly equally represent the prerogatives of every type of consituent— each with an almost endless set of priorities for themselves, their families, their faith, their business, their community, etc. etc. After all, if consensus means unanimous agreement, we can never have consensus on all issues, as you seem to indicate.
Don't you agree?
13 September 2006
at 1:46 p.m.
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SettingTheRecordStraight (Anonymous) says…
Oh, and GOPConservative, you weakly and pathetically attempt to defend your complete intolerance of traditional Christians through a convoluted, nonsensical tie-in to Islamic terrorists.
13 September 2006
at 1:46 p.m.
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75x55 (Anonymous) says…
“There's no problem with them 'acting in accordance with their beliefs.' Its when they begin to legislate their particular religious beliefs that trouble begins.”
Thusly begins the defining down of 'religious beliefs'. Down to the point where common morality is mistaken for “shoving your religion down my throat”. That is where the 'trouble' is - more than a few folks want nothing to do with morality, common or otherwise.
13 September 2006
at 3:26 p.m.
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KsTwister (Anonymous) says…
It bothers me to a greater degree as to how the religious right managed to turn their backs on Katrina victims. The next elections are not going to be about religion–get over it.
13 September 2006
at 3:32 p.m.
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75x55 (Anonymous) says…
“It bothers me to a greater degree as to how the religious right managed to turn their backs on Katrina victims. ”
Like all the 'religious right' churches around the country that took in Katrina refugees, sent a variety of groups and teams to work in the recovery efforts, and performed other untold deeds of kindness? Sorry, you're going to do better than tossing out that worthless comment.
13 September 2006
at 3:49 p.m.
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KsTwister (Anonymous) says…
So having your Congress and President (secular as they may be) sitting on their hands for three weeks watching people die the aftermath is a better alternative? Other Americans rushed in while they did nothing, and I might add even those who ran to aide waited, thinking the country's leaders were going to be the quickest effort. The present leaders have dropped the ball enough and the citizens will vote the checks and balances for their security, their soldiers and the rebuilding of America. They cost us our pride,believe it.
13 September 2006
at 5:15 p.m.
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webmocker (Anonymous) says…
Hey, as long as we're slamming GOPConservative, please let her or him know that one can “sew” tweeds” but should “sow” seeds. :-)
13 September 2006
at 5:47 p.m.
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davisnin (Anonymous) says…
Katrina, Katrina, Katrina
George Bush WAS down there during the storm. In his hurricane-generating-baby-stabbing-super-spy-on-blameless Americans plane “The Racist”. He killed 45 billion people.
13 September 2006
at 11:21 p.m.
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The_Twelve (Anonymous) says…
The other side of “acting in accordance with their beliefs” is, of course, that we all “pick and choose” what to act in accordance with.
If the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill (or “murder”-for those who lhappen to appreciate the value of war),” then the holier-than-thous conveniently find Bible verses that support a contrary view.
If the Bible says, “Blessed are the poor…” then we find way to keep the poor in their place, and decide that alms-giving should be compensated by tax write-offs and federal funding, because God really wants them to be “poor” and me (the believer) to be wealthy.
And so on, and so on. The problem is hypocrisy and “Living by the Book (whichever book that may be for your belief system).
Few can do it, but many innocent suffer or die because of it.
13 September 2006
at 11:26 p.m.
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GOPConservative (Anonymous) says…
SettingTheRecordStraight:
“GOPConservative, you weakly and pathetically attempt to defend your complete intolerance of traditional Christians…”
**************
I beg your pardon! I have no “intolerance of traditional Christians.”
I AM a traditional Christian. I was raised in a traditional Christian home. My best friends are traditional Christians.
The false theology put out by Pat Robertson is NOT traditional. It is evil. It is hateful. It represents the complete opposite of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
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DaveS:
“Please tell me exactly where in the bill of rights does it require our elected Representatives to gain a consensus of their constituents before making a vote?”
*******
My original statement was:
“Our representatives in Congress ought to represent ALL the people in their district.”
You are correct that my second statement was awkward. What I intended to say was that even though elected representatives can choose to represent an extremist fringe (e.g. Phill Kline and Jim Ryun), it ought to their moral duty to follow the spirit of democratic principles as outlined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
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Webmocker,
My bad.
“The so-in-so sewed his pants so he sow some grain to feed his sow.”