First Amendment Fun

Overheal

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-prayer8-2009may08,0,571624.story

Reporting from Washington -- For years, it has been a staple of the White House calendar.

On the first Thursday of May, dedicated as the National Day of Prayer, President George W. Bush hosted an ecumenical service in the East Room.

(The event is different from the National Prayer Breakfast, held elsewhere in Washington on the first Thursday of February.)

President Obama opted not to have a service in the White House this year.

"Prayer is something that the president does every day," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, adding that Obama would sign a proclamation to recognize the day. "I think the president understands, in his own life and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays."


President Truman signed the first declaration of an annual National Day of Prayer, and President Reagan established it as the first Thursday in May.

Under Bush, the day was a political event, confirming that religion was a core tenet of Republican politics.

Prominent evangelicals, including National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairwoman Shirley Dobson and her husband, Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson, expressed disappointment in Obama's decision.

"At this time in our country's history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer," Shirley Dobson said in a statement.

Obama was the first president to mention nonbelievers in an inaugural address: "For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers."

Nonbelievers took heart at Obama's decision but urged him to go further.

"It's not his job to tell people to pray," David Silverman, national spokesman for American Atheists, told CNN.

"We are very happy he did away with the George W. Bush-era celebrations and party, but we wish he wouldn't do it at all."

Atheist? Secret Muslim? Or just finally we have someone who respects the Constitution. Or both - I'm not picky. Thats a Score One for the 1st Amendment.

In somewhat related news Michael Savage has been Banned from Britain :eek: for Hate speech. Particularly, Against Islam in this direct quote (said rather furiously):

"I Don't Want to hear about Islam! I Don't wanna hear one more word about Islam! Take your religion and shove it up your Behind!"

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/05/07/us.savage.banned/

Controversial Issue to be sure.

"She lumped me in with known murderers and terrorists, people who have been in prison for killing people," Savage said of Smith. "I've been on the air for 15 years, three hours a day, five days a week. I have never, ever promoted violence. There has never been one violent incident attached to my show."

This is who he is lumped in with.

# The Rev. Fred Phelps and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, for "engaging in unacceptable behavior and fostering hatred." Phelps and his followers at Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, oppose homosexuality. They picket the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, saying their deaths are God's way of punishing the United States for supporting homosexuals. They have expressed similar views about the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

# Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Don Black, who established the white supremacist Web site Stormfront. The Home Office called it one of the oldest and largest hate group sites.

# Erich Gliebe, chairman of the National Alliance, one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the U.S. The Home Office accused Gliebe of "justifying terrorist violence, provoking others to commit serious crime and fostering racial hatred."

# Samir al Quntar, a Lebanese man who spent three decades in prison for killing four Israeli soldiers and a 4-year-old girl in 1979. The Home Office lists al Quntar for "engaging in unacceptable behavior by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence" to provoke terrorist acts.

# Nasr Javed, a leader of the Kashmiri militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

# Islamic clerics Abdul Ali Musa, Abdullah Qadri Al Ahdal, Amir Siddique, Yunis Al Astal and Safwat Hijazi.

# Wadgy Abd El Hamied Mohamed Ghoneim, whom the Home Office describes as a prolific writer and speaker. The Home Office said he has sought "to foment, justify or glory terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs and to provoke others to commit terrorist acts."
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# Mike Guzofsky, the leader of a militant Jewish group with ties to Kahane Chai, a group that the U.S. State Department lists as a foreign terrorist organization.

# Russian skinheads Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky, whom the Home Office said are "leaders of a violent gang that beat migrants and posted films of their attacks on the Internet."

Predictably this drama will play out for days if not weeks. Bring popcorn.

sink

I'm opposed to Michael Savages ban from entering Britain. I disagree vehemently with his politics but that is all it is, a political disagreement. He is not threatening violence nor is he advocating others to carry out violence so this ban is completely unjustified.

Galvasean

Here's hoping Obama will use the 'prayer time' to do some actual work.