Did anyone honestly think this one was gonna go anywhere?
Two U.S. Supreme Court members separately rejected on Wednesday an emergency request from a California atheist who sought to stop the recital of prayers at President Bush’s inauguration.
[. . .]
Newdow, a doctor-lawyer who is acting as his own attorney in the case, argued that clergy-led prayers at the inauguration on Thursday would violate his constitutional rights.
“As an atheist, he cannot in good conscience attend an exercise where his government forces him to endure religious dogma he finds highly disagreeable,” Newdow wrote in his motion filed with the Supreme Court. “Newdow’s rights of religious freedom should be protected.”
Newdow, who lives in Sacramento, California, said he would drop his plans to attend the inauguration if forced to confront the prayers by two Christian ministers.
I’m not that troubled by the inclusion of the prayers in the inaugural since these ceremonies are put together at the discretion of the President. With that aspect of it at least, I’m willing to give let Bush have his celebration the way he wants it. I agree with Newdow about the troublesome links between religion and government, but the dude seriously needs to pick his battles better. Decrying something like this just makes him look like a crybaby, especially when there are so many other places that deserve scrutiny (like the practice of the legal system utilizing the Bible for swearings-in).
So, having made peace with the idea that the inauguration is gonna come with an extra helping of Jesus, lemme make a couple suggestions for Bible passages that would really suit George’s self-congratulatory (while our soldiers are dying by the score overseas) $40 million party. For those reading along at home, here’s a passage from chapter 19 of the Gospel According to Matthew :
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired.
Jesus replied, ” ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
[ed. note that Jesus left out the religious commandments. Somebody tell Judge Roy Moore]
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Shorter Jesus : Rich people suck. I believe it was The Daily Show that once joked that Bush had set up a top secret department Pentagon to come up with an easy way for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye. I wonder how they’re doing on that?
Now if you’ll join me at Chapter 14 in Luke for this quote that ends on a similar note, but makes a few observations that are goddamned hilarious when looking back at the last four years :
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ?This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
So that explains how Bush and Co. can call themselves “Christian” while rewarding the rich and screwing the poor.By undermining Jesus’s observation that a leader would naturally concern himself with troop strength and diplomacy prior to going to war, they can get away with being greedy bastards on a spiritual technicality.