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Troublesh00ter's avatar

The phrase: "pissing into the wind" comes to mind as regards this situation. The Chino Valley Unified School District seems to be bound and determined to reintroduce prayer into what should be a secular function, mostly because a majority of the members seem to have a church and a radical pastor in common. These people need to be reminded that THE POPULATION OF CHINO IS NOT NECESSARILY ALL CHRISTIAN! More than likely, there is a Jewish, Mormon, Islamic, and, yes, atheistic component to the people of Chino, and they do not deserve to be relegated to second-class status because the school board wants to get their Jesus on.

Those members won't hear that, though ... or at least not until the FFRF hammers it into their skulls.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

They want the entire school district in their church. Then they need to make their own fucking loser school and leave the public school alone.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Even if everyone was christian, prayers are for home and/or church, not public institutions.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Proving, once again, that the church is all about POWER, not communing with Jeebus.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

“Live and let live,” soon to be illegal in Shitler’s America.

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John Roberts's avatar

North and South America 😉

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Linda Bower's avatar

I think they only hear dollar bills. Tax all these churches into oblivion! Force them back underground to do their indoctrinating. Better yet, we should laser focus in on passing laws which provide better protection to prevent the indoctrination and abuse from happening in the first place.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

As long as the Repugs are in power, I'm afraid that won't happen. Even if such a laws do manage to get passed SCROTUS will just strike them down.

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ericc's avatar

Not all, but clearly majority conservative christian. 5/5 SB members being conservative and the church having 8,000 voting members in a town where total votes maxes out at 11,000 tells me that all the religious minorities in Chino combined probably do not sum total enough to swing an election.

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Don Hawkins's avatar

3k need to move & leave that district in favor of a more sane district, leaving the cultists to ultimately drive their bus into a ditch, or serve kool-aid with their prayers.

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Maltnothops's avatar

I suspect the numbers aren’t quite that clean. The church says it has 8000 registered voters. We don’t know how many reside in the school district (or if the church is lying). We don’t know how many vote. The non-churchy voters need to step up their game.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

Hard to hammer something into solid cement.

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Hannah olufs's avatar

It doesn't matter how many people are of a different or no faith. This is illegal.

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Bob Oz's avatar

Desperation. They know the number of 'religious' is falling and the 'nones' are on the rise. Kids aren't going to their churches or Sunday schools (parents aren't taking them) and so they need to get into the schools to get the kids. It's their fight for survival.

It's the same with the religious 'counselors' they are letting into the schools in Texas.

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Maltnothops's avatar

“Pissin’ in the wind” Jerry Jeff Walker

https://youtu.be/6QgNzTN-STA?si=gN4iTo01yp3FK510

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oraxx's avatar

They could not, of course, provide a shred of evidence to support their claim these meetings derive a bit of good by including prayer. They're doing what the religious right always does and trying to force their religion on others. They do this in spite of the fact they would go out of their tiny little minds if any prayer other than those they approve of were to be used. Mixing religion and government is the same terrible idea it has always been, and the public schools are a sub-division of government.

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Old Man Shadow's avatar

4 to 14 window.

That's what they call it. They have to get kids before education and critical thinking skills set.

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oraxx's avatar

Indeed so. I do not see why it is ever okay to present something to children as fact, that an educated adult would almost certainly reject if hearing it for the first time. The obsession with indoctrinating children is a huge part of why the world is as screwed up as it is.

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Hannah olufs's avatar

That reference is new to me. Is it really a thing?

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

Yes.

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e09066e28b286dd3402779bf31fdd9d0774672faadd4d6a090ff44850a652173.jpg

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟒-𝟏𝟒 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛

https://rolltodisbelieve.com/the-4-14-window-is-christianitys-demographic-time-bomb/

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

My debate coach in Catholic school always told me, “when faced with facts you cannot dispute, do the Catholic thing and MAKE SHIT UP.”

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oraxx's avatar

I will always be grateful that my little town in cattle ranching country of western Nebraska was just a little too small too support a Catholic school.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Lucky you!

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

I am praying today to end the useless habit of praying before meetings. Now, can we get to work on what we are supposed to ? Namely, helping children build a prosperous and filling future.

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John Smith's avatar

Can’t have an educated and informed public, that would mean critical thinking, reading, analysis, etc, therefore a public that can’t be manipulated or controlled by the MAGAS. That is why education, expertise, skills are vilified by Christian nationalists rednecks, it interferes with their (magas) power/control over people and society.

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oraxx's avatar

I’m sure your prayers will be every bit as effective as all the others. ;)

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Aria's prayers for food worked each and every time 😋

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Maltnothops's avatar

If whining is praying, then Emily’s prayers worked every time too.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Was that praying or preying?

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John Smith's avatar

The religious alway said that the Early medieval period was the height of religious power for religion (especially the clergy and the leaders).

All religions want to go back to that level of power and control over individuals and society, and are willing to do anything to gain that level of power and control again. Anything else is just a lie told to us to calm our fears and distract us from what religion (the clergy and the leaders) really is trying to do!

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oraxx's avatar

No one in their right mind would want to go back to that time. Just because religion was in control, certainly didn't make it a desireable system to live under.

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John Smith's avatar

I agree, but the religious don’t seem to understand the realities of that time.

Religions don’t care about the subordinates (everyone else) that had to deal with the harsh realities such as poverty, disease, etc. All religions care about is their own personal power and being able to determine the rules and social norm for individuals and society (excluding the clergy and leaders).

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oraxx's avatar

They tend not to have any grasp of history, what so ever. My father was half again as Catholic as the Pope, but knew absolutely nothing of the god-awful history of his church.

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cdbunch's avatar

Everyone was a noble in their past lives. No one was ever a peasant.

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Hannah olufs's avatar

I spell it money. Who needs to understand history if it's about money.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

If one is at all a student of history, they would run away screaming at the very thought of returning to those times.

Crusades anyone?

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James Clark's avatar

There's a reason that they refer to that time as the Dark Ages.

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Cathy G's avatar

It’s clear the Trump administration plans to take us back to the dark ages.

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ericc's avatar

Well, they don't have to. The courts are not there to rule on whether an elected official's conduct is wise or useful, only if it's legal.

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

'God is for natural marriage'. I am all for marriage between a man and a woman. I am in one. But that does not stop me being all for marriage between two men, two women, a trans woman and a man, a trans man and a man or any other combination of two people who love each other. So why can't God be a bit more understanding? He allowed gay men and women and people whose gender and biological sex are different. Oh the original sin explanation. God is meant to be all powerful, so sin happened because he allowed it to. So this is about the only marriage acceptable is a man being the head of the household and his wife subservient. So this is about controlling women.

'God is for pre born babies'. He is asking people to vote Biblically. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that a foetus is a person. It does mention the 'breath of life' in Genesis 2;27, Ken Ham territory. Well the first breath a person has is when they cease to become a foetus. And there is a description of an abortion and how to do it. Numbers 5;11-31. So this is also about controlling women.

'God is for Israel'. Well in the Old Testament the Jews are promised a land that is inhabited by other people already. They are considered fair game for being conquered and killed. Well except for maybe the women and their baby incubation qualities. The fact that the Israeli leadership is doing the same in Gaza and the West Bank is not a good thing.

Telling people to vote Biblically when it is against their conscience to do so. Well one of those things must be wrong then. Is it a set of 66 books with unknown authors that are at least 1,700 years old, or your sense of right and wrong? They tell us our sense of morality comes from God. So that only leaves one option. The Bible, or at least parts of it, must be wrong.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Natural marriage ? Like in Nature ?

Gorillas "Let's the elders have harems, the bigger the better, and fuck the youngsters, they can have fun together"

Bonobos "We follow the wisdom of our matriarchs, we make love, a lot, not war."

A particular family of birds somewhere in the USA "Where the fuck has my mate gone ?Let's forget it. I will find a new one" Some time later, M1 came back and find his female with another male. They decided to live in a happy polyandry relationship. Until the female died and the two males raised the chicks together, then started a quest to find a new female willing to live in a happy polyandry relationship.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

♫♪ And if you can't be with the one you love / Honey, love the one you're with! ♪♫

-- Stephen Stills

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

It made me laugh, but that seems a recipe for abuse.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

Or at least polyamory! If nothing else the song itself has a very UP attitude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZyj6GECjZ0

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John Smith's avatar

Where in the bible is human right and civil liberties. It talks about human responsibilities to goddybitch, but what about goddybitch responsibilities towards humanity. The only form of government found in the bible is absolute monarchy that is only accountable to goddybitch, not those that are being ruled. That form of government is inconsistent in a modern 21st century society as well going against human rights and civil liberties.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Right!?! Voting biblically is nonsensical, there is no voting in the Bible. It’s “slaves obey your masters” and the divine right of kings. There’s no choose your leaders well. It’s all “god appoints your leaders and obey mindlessly.”

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John Smith's avatar

I willing to bet my pocket lint that MAGAS have no idea what the phrase “divine right of kings” actually means, in fact MAGAS don’t know the meanings of the words or phrases that they (magas) toss around.

If the Christian nationalists actually knew what the words and phrases actually mean, then maybe we could have a productive conversation about the situation.

I know that will never happen!!!!

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

Here we at least listen and respond to trolls in as polite a manner as we can.

On Breitbart the sane people who venture to comment are instantly shot down. None of them are interested in any dialogue. They don't think there is anything to discuss with what they see as the enemy.

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

Absolutely. Nobody had heard of Democracy back then. You cannot expect a book that is mostly over 2,000 years old to apply to modern society.

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John Smith's avatar

Christian nationalists want to apply the bible to modern society which will not work. The nuances and complexity of the modern world is so far outside the scope of the bible or any religious text it is mind boggling that the religious would even try. Yet the religious are trying from Christian nationalist in the United States to Islamist in Iran to Hindu nationalist in India, as well as others.

Religion is the greatest threat to humanity and this planet!

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

This oft revised relic of Neanderthal like thinking, now produced in China (in Shitler’s name for the cult), contains more contradictions than the Fermi Paradox. It may be adored, but, also abhorred.

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Maltnothops's avatar

“Natural marriage” sounds like a euphemism for “never ever got married and are sinning in the eyes of god”.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

“I wanna encourage others NOT to vote your conscience…”

Jesus Christ, man!

I’m… I’m at a loss here. What!?!

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

Well a lot (maybe most if not all) of the Trump voters either have no conscience or indeed did vote against it. So psychopaths and people more concerned with money and power than doing the right thing. Not a great set of people.

And they say a vote for Kamaka is a vote for Satan. Sounds like Satan chose the right side then.

And they always tell us our sense of morality (or conscience) comes from God. So voting against that is surely voting against God.

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John Smith's avatar

“I wanna encourage others NOT to vote your conscience”. 1984 doublespeak right here folks.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

In other words, “Have no conscience.” Yeah, that sounds like something Jeebus would say.

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Hannah olufs's avatar

Read it again. He said conscious, which I found amusing.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Gays Against Groomers. GAG. How appropriate for these alt-reich idiots. If they were really against groomers, why aren't they going after these child molesting morality merchants?

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

How many of the members of this group are actually gay? It’s possible, I suppose that there are enough gay people on the right to form a misguided group like this, but it also is not a stretch to assume it’s just a bunch of creepy men claiming to be gay to co-opt the LGBTQ status to put on airs of legitimacy to the claims.

Funny how they imply that the groomers are LGBTQ and not the white, cis-het, Christian men in positions of respect and authority, like priests, that almost always seem to be the real culprits of grooming. I mean, how many Republican politicians have we seen this week alone being caught molesting children, or covering up for their family members who are?

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John Smith's avatar

One is too many, but we seen dozens! Yet, the blame is always directed everywhere else except the person committing the crime!

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Actually, they use the 12th century definition of gay. Though, they get it wrong again because happy people let others live their lives as they wish.

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Tinker's avatar
13hEdited

I would assume Gays Against Groomers would be an anti-theist group.

𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 "𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑡" 𝑡𝑜 "𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖-𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑡".

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NOGODZ20's avatar

It’s not. Thank God. :)

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Tinker's avatar

My point is actually that the real groomers are the churchy people.

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Shulgi Adad's avatar

Exactly. I mean, how is getting your religious propaganda into places intended for educating young people *not* grooming?

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Yup.

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Bensnewlogin's avatar

Gays against groomers is an Astroturf group. They were political creation. I haven’t heard from them in quite a while

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NOGODZ20's avatar

I’d not heard of them at all until this article. That they are a political creation comes as no surprise.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Most surprising is the complete lack of awareness by xtian zealot parents about how they are hurting their own children. Lies, subterfuge and throwing shade at those not in the cult…it’s the way in Chico.

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Holytape's avatar

"Before I rule on this I would like to see arguments from both sides. Preferably written on the side of a brand new Winnebago," said Justice Thomas. "I'm joking. I would also accept the arguments in the form of a luxury fishing trip."

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Maltnothops's avatar

My bride guffawed

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Joe King's avatar

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑜 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦’𝑠 𝐵𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛.

God dammit! Our mops are barely dry, and these overzealous bigots start pissing everywhere but the urinal again.

Hey Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education: 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘷 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯 is not now and never was a green light to make your brand of Christianity mandatory.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

California is a state of disparate groups, which MAGATS are most assuredly unaware of. It’s not the “lunatic left” hideout that they believe. There was even talk of splitting Cali into two states in the past. Not only is there a religious zealot block, there is Big Ag…firmly entrenched. You know Big Ag is deep in Shitler’s pocket. And then there are the Tech Bros.

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Tinker's avatar

That splitting of Cali still comes up on occasion. Usually when the 'conservatives' get their panties in a bunch over some story of the day. But then cooler heads prevail and the people who want to split from the 'libs' realize that they benefit from those tax dollars.

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

California they hate. Portland, well that is a whole other level. I think they think Satan himself is a resident.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Yep, but you can call me Walt.

We have 2 of the best damn Senators in America, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. They are the reason those fuckers from ICE aren’t here already.

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

Just had a look at those two Senators on Wikipedia. Seem like my type of politician. Noticed Wyden was prepared to cross party lines to vote with his conscience. And Merkley attempting to visit a facility where children of asylum seekers were being imprisoned.

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John Roberts's avatar

"Senators in America" North and South America. 😉

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James Clark's avatar

I would suggest splitting California into many states. Wyoming has less than a million people and still gets two Senators, which gives them an unfair advantage. I'm thinking at least five states, with at least four being firmly controlled by Democrats.😁

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Joe King's avatar

Email to the school board, subject: Reviving invocations

Chino Valley School Board:

As a concerned American citizen who values the religious freedoms of everyone, I would like to have some information from you that I can report.

First, if your attempt to get the injunction against prayers to open your meetings fails, will you drop the matter completely or will you try to find a different route to inject religious observance into the school board agenda? Second, if you are successful and get the injunction lifted, who would be giving the invocations? Would it be open to anyone who wishes to give one? Would it be restricted to specific persons? Would your policy on invocations allow for non-Christian invocations? Would it allow for non-religious invocations? In short, would you respect the fact that the Constitution of the United States mandates government neutrality towards religion? That means that you cannot promote one religious viewpoint over others, and you cannot promote religion over non-religion. If you are allowed invocations, you must allow them from groups such as the American Humanist Association, Buddhist temples, and The Satanic Temple. As personally distasteful as you would find that, you must allow that in order to preserve religious liberty.

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James Clark's avatar

That might be a good argument if you were dealing with sane people, unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the Chino Valley Board of education is comprised of sane people.

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ericc's avatar
13hEdited

Given that they have 5-of-5 conservative christian SB members, they could easily make a technically-neutral rule like 'SB members rotate the invocation duty' and end up with an all-Christian result.

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John Roberts's avatar

"American citizen" of the United States, one of 35 American countries 😉

Thanks

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

"full of explicitly Christian prayers and Bible verses and rants against gay marriage."

"passed a resolution opposing same-sex marriage in 2008"

I know California has no minimum age for marriage but it still not what the council members should focus on, or if they really want to, they can push for laws preventing marriage with minors, or at least granting them the same rights as an adult.

"To introduce the bible back into the public schools as history and literature"

Well, for the history part, you can study it with the chronicles of contemporaries civilisations (Egypte, Assyria, Babylon, Rome...). It's the literature part that is concerning, if you want to study the horror genre, there is better sources like Stephen King*

* I may not like his books, but I still see the contribution he made to literature.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

GOD IS FOR NATURAL MARRIAGE

Your god didn't invent marriage and neither he nor you own it. Oh, and do point to scripture where Adam and Eve were ever married.

Speaking of natural, those two were au natural in Eden and there was no issue with it until your blockhead of a deity put that Tree of Knowledge/forbidden fruit in his creation's midst and told them not to eat from it KNOWING THEY WOULD!

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Chris Titchmarsh's avatar

They talk like it is a zero sum game. It is not. You can be for all sorts of marriage and there are an infinite number of possibilities. Biological sex and gender are both on a sliding scale, not just 100% male and female. There is no black and white.

And other marriages are NOT destroying 'natural marriage'. In fact other marriages that are not mine are also NONE OF MY BUSINESS.

For me as long as they are between people who love each other then I am all for it.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

They say it must be their kind of love, Chris. It is reprehensible that of all the faith organizations that exist, none of them are accepting of an individual’s right to worship another religion. “My way or the highway,” is now a tenet of the tRumpian Bible.

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Joe King's avatar

Biblical marriage is one man and as many women as that man can purchase or steal and subsequently provide a minimum level of support. Remember, Christians, your holy book says women are things and not people!

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NOGODZ20's avatar

I beat you to it by a couple of minutes. :)

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Do you finally master the arcanes of c/p ?

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Gotta love “OMG TV!”

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OwossoHarpist's avatar

O/T: From Raw Story,

House Speaker Mike Johnson has been accused of using campaign money to pay his rent in what the government watchdog group Campaign Legal Center described as a “clear-cut violation of federal campaign finance laws,” newly filed complaints allege.

In two separate complaints filed this week with the Federal Election Commission and the Office of Congressional Conduct, the watchdog alleged that Johnson and his campaign committee used campaign funds to pay for the top House Republican’s personal rent for his residence in Washington, D.C.

Johnson is currently residing at the residence of his Republican colleague, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who told Semafor in late April that the speaker was “a friend and needed a place.” The complaint detailed five campaign fund disbursements of $2,500, or $12,500 in total, for “rent” to Greene Properties Inc., which is owned by Issa.

https://www.rawstory.com/mike-johnson-2673870511/

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Lynn Veit's avatar

He will skate. Meanwhile, Minnesota just lost another Democrat legislator, Nicole Mitchell, accused of breaking into her stepmother's house to retrieve personal items, including her father's flannel shirt. She has resigned her post and a special election will choose her replacement. A Repug colleague whined that she was being special treatment by being allowed to give "two week notice" until she steps down. Apparently being allowed to give notice is a bridge too far for him. He wanted her kicked out immediately and disgraced in a huge perp walk show.

Minnesota may be just a little less blue after all is said and done.

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Ian D's avatar

Mike Johnson, the clean cut smiling guy who would be one of the last types that you would want your daughter to bring home to meet her parents.

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Maltnothops's avatar

Oh, that Mike Johnson!

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Holytape's avatar

I say they should pray, but rotate through the gods until they find one that works. Start with the Egyptian God Aa and work their way to the old polish God Zizilla. Stop at which ever one allows them to finally show up that damned Riverside Unified School District.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Zizi in French is a child word for penis 🤣

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Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz's avatar

Wait, what now?

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

I am not joking.

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Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz's avatar

...should I change my picture?

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Yes, you should switch to a photo of Pierre Perret. Universally known for his song "Le zizi".

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Boreal's avatar

I prefer Gojira to God Zizilla.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

The kaiju or the band? :)

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Boreal's avatar

The Kaiju.

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Bensnewlogin's avatar

There’s not too much I can say about this. If the people of Chino Valley will not vote these dominionists out and keep them out, they will keep coming back. A little bit like herpes, but not as much fun.

I don’t have really anything else to say but that. We can’t rely on the Supreme Court, on the president, or Congress to put an end into this. Therefore, it’s up to the people. And if they can’t be bothered to vote, then they’re going to get “Christian“ “education“—-double quote necessary— and they’re going to give power to people who believe that hurricanes are caused by porn pornography in schools, pro-life people who believe that the mayor of Los Angeles should be executed because of the fires, and demonic possession. All of this is documentable stuff coming from the Hibbsters.

And the children of Chino Valley will grow up to be so indoctrinated and uneducated. And if sanity is ever restored to this country, the sins of the father’s will be visited on those children to the seventh generation, because no one is going to hire somebody that stupid, superstitious, and power hungry.

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ericc's avatar
12hEdited

It sounds like Chino valley has a supermajority of conservative Christians, so the legislative branch is going to be no help to the minority who don't want Jesus prayer - and we shouldn't blame the victims for their situation. However the Constitution, as interpreted by the Judicial branch, imposes limits on what elective representatives can do. In this case, it doesn't matter what the elected SB wants to do. It doesn't matter if 99.9999% of the town is fully behind them. It doesn't matter if for 53 of the 55 years the town has been incorporated, they've said a prayer to Jesus to open school board meetings. "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion", period. It's not open to majority rule.

Well, here's hoping the circuit court sees it that way.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

The circuit court might. I'm not so sure about SCOTUS.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

You know, when fundies, of all stripes, are concerned, we should use miseducation.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

On the marriage issue, shall we point them to their own book as to what constitutes a biblical marriage? Or should we just let America's Best Christian Betty Bowers do it?

youtu.be/OFkeKKszXTw

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Joe King's avatar

Betty Bowers. You know they won't actually read their book.

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John Smith's avatar

Or any other book. This is a group of people who haven’t read a book since they (magas) left high school (I’m being generous here in thinking that the magas actually graduated from high school). Reading, knowledge, expertise, skill are considered woke and anti Christian.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Betty does it better.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

It takes a Canadian atheist to be America’s Best Christian.

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John Roberts's avatar

Agreed, Canadians, Canada one of 35 American countries, they are Americans.

Thanks

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ericc's avatar

Hopefully the circuit court rejects the request to vacate, pointing out that while Lemon is gone, government establishment is still unconstitutional and that's what the invocations were doing.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Another right wing asshole tacking “history and tradition” to nonsense that has no history or tradition. The only tradition for this is what’s in your head. If you say it a hundred times it is still false. But then we still have mango Mussolini just making claims that everyone knows aren’t true and yet they are suddenly real.

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ericc's avatar
13hEdited

Chino Valley was only incorporated in 1970, and just based on Hemant's article alone, the fundies have been reporting about their SB invocations in the press and media since at least 2008. Which means they've probably been *doing* invocations years longer. Given that, I think we must assume that this practice has been going on for at least half the total historical existence of the town itself, and thus the fundies have a decent probability of winning if the court case turns into a "is traditional for the Chino SB/is not traditional" he said/she said type of debate.

So I think the right way to push back is to push on the 'establishes religion' nature of these invocations. The Lemon test was only a *method* of calculating establisment. Getting rid of it did not get rid of establishment-is-unconstitutional. Pointing out that the invocations clearly establish religion I'm guessing might resonate with the circuit court.

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