giza | This might hurt his performance review...

Store 'Employee of the Year' Charged with Trying to Rob It
A man who was shot while allegedly trying to rob an armored car guard at a Pathmark supermarket in Cedarbrook Plaza on Saturday has been identified as an assistant manager who recently was honored as employee of the year. Cheltenham Township police say the store's assistant manager, Curtis Sanders, is alleged to have attempted a robbery by spraying the guard with pepper spray as he was exiting the rear of the store with a money bag. The guard thwarted the robbery attempt by shooting the suspect twice.

Also, it looks like we have another group of people who are taking their religion where it doesn't belong: school board meetings - Prayer at Coatesville Council Meetings Comes Under Fire

The article goes on to mention that religion was being "mixed in with business" during the meetings. We're not talking something in the opening of the meeting (which is somewhat customary), but religious stuff taking place in the meeting itself. A quote from the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia in the article had this to say:
"I was appalled at the intermixing of religion and business. I was also quite concerned that the city counci members wear their religion on their sleeve."

Yikes. Also, I just love the name. "Freethought Society". Their website is at http://www.fsgp.org/ Things have even gone so far as for the ACLU to send a "please desist" letter to the school board.

Of course, I suppose there would be an innocent explanation to that. The article noted that calls to council members had not yet been returned, so I'd be interested in hearing what they have to say about the whole thing.

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From:

sagejackal.livejournal.com

Okay, you're probably not gonna like what I have to say, but I still feel a need to make a point, so I apologize in advance.

Amendment the First
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

Now, what does that mean? Well, Congress can't legislate religion. That's it.

Now, thanks to Amendments the 9th and 10th, everything else pertaining to this matter it left to these States, or the People ourselves.

So what does the Pennsylvania Constitution have to say about this?

Article 1 Section 3
All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship or to maintain any ministry against his consent; no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience, and no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious establishments or modes of worship.

So you can't be forced to practice a religion. And a preference of religion can't be legislated. Seems simple enough.

So why do people still insist that we have a separation of Church and State and that God has no place in government buildings?

I'll leave that to be rhetorical for now and move to my next point.

From KYW
I was appalled at the intermixing of religion and business. I was also quite concerned that the city council members wear their religion on their sleeve.

You're an moron for being appalled and the council members are morons because they are wearing their religion on their sleeve. All you need is a one or two line opening prayer and that's it. All they're doing is wasting people's time, and there are much better ways to do that.

The ACLU. Good for them fighting for something. Maybe they'll get a merit badge and a gold star out of this.

And Freethought? What is that, Newspeak? All I have to say to them is; the 1950s called, the Soviet Union wants their atheism back.

The moral of the story is, people are stupid.

kinkyturtle.livejournal.com

You might actually have a point if religion mixed with government or government-supported activities were harmless. But it's not, as has been demonstrated too many times. On a large scale, there's the cruel anti-abortion laws and anti-same-sex-marriage laws. On a smaller scale, there are things that go on in various towns that you don't hear much about: for example, a judge granting custody of a child to the abusive father despite the wishes of the mother, because the father impresses the judge by being a devout Christian. These are the sort of things that are allowed to happen when we let religion gain too much control.

"Freethought" is not Newspeak because it means what it says, instead of the other way around: thought that is free of the influence of organized religion.

I agree with you. OF those that do bring God into government, there are a lot that do it with brute force. I don't support that either.

What I meant to say in the previous post was; there's no separation of church and state, but neither is there an acknowledgment of church by state. There's a middle ground and I have seen it work.

As for the Newspeak comment, I'll admit, I was in a cranky mood when I made that post, hence the cynicism. :/