Louie, Put That Bag Back Over Your Head
Louie Gohmert met with Texas’ own Joe Barton and as expected, nothing good came outta it.
You got HR1586 which says in some weird language akin to English —
To direct the Architect of the Capitol to acquire and place a historical plaque to be permanently displayed in National Statuary Hall recognizing the seven decades of Christian church services being held in the Capitol from 1800 to 1868, which included attendees James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
Louie is contending that separation of church and state means that government cannot tell you which Christian church you can attend. Seriously. Here’s what’s in the bill.
The term `separation of church and state’, not found in the Constitution, was rather first used by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists. Though Jefferson saw no problem with having nondenominational Christian services in government buildings, he affirmed that the Government should not choose an official Christian denomination.
Good Lord, if this is true, and it ain’t, even Catholics couldn’t be Americans.
And how’s Louie propose we pay for this? Oh yeah, with the tax money from everybody – including people who are not Christian. That’s fair.
Next will come Louie’s announcement that we have freedom of religion because you can be any kind of Baptist you want to be. You can be a Southern Baptist, a Free Will Baptist, a Missionary Baptist, a Sister of Perpetual Virginity Baptist, or a Snake Handling Baptist. You can be a Methodist but you will be frowned upon.
Louie, I mailed you a paper bag to put over your head and tee shirt that says, “I’m a Canadian Terrorist.” Get dressed, Louie, we’re going to town.
Thanks to Lindy for the heads up.
Long term it will be interesting to see if young people are repelled from Christianity by people like Gohmert, much as they are repelled from the GOP. The GOP has known demographic problems. Christianity could find itself in the same boat if it doesn’t move away from loud right-wing pundits who politicize it.
1Louie better read the First Amendment, or better yet, have someone who knows big words read it to him.
2Juanita Jean, do you mean *David* Barton? This David Barton?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barton_(author) This: http://hnn.us/articles/what-least-credible-history-book-print And this: http://www.worldmag.com/2012/08/lost_confidence
In case anyone is interested in Baptist trivia there is also this group of Baptists: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit+predestinarian+Baptists%3A+a+small+Baptist+body,…-a094160997
LynnN, young people are already leaving the church in droves. The church no longer has a captive audience. In the small southern college town where I grew up only a few restaurants and an ice cream shop were open on Sundays, certainly no stores, grocery or otherwise. Even the gas stations took turns being open. Absolutely no alcohol could be legally purchased on Sundays. Now people can shop anywhere, anytime, and can even purchase alcoholic beverage on Sundays after noon (the ‘church’ still has that much power). American religion, the church if you will, has not yet figured out that young people aren’t buying the old sin-is-black-hell-is-hot-eternity-is-long message anymore. They want real help with real lives and as far as I can tell evangelical churches are offering only pious platitudes and otherwise empty rhetoric.
3The Treaty with Tripoli, written under George Washington’s State Department and signed by new President John Adams after being passed UNANIMOUSLY by the Senate, contains the clause, “Since the United States is in no way founded on the Christian religion….” And many of those guys were the ones who wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights, or at least signed off on them. I think they knew this isn’t a “Christian” country.
“If you ain’t just like me, you ain’t right” is a primitive attitude that some people need to get over.
4…and make it a dry cleaning bag Louie.
5…and breathe long and hard, Louie.
6I have noticed the most vocal christians tend to pick and choose which parts of the bible they believe and follow (gays bad) and which parts they will not (be nice to everyone, help the poor, and don’t pray in public).
So perhaps I could do the same, and be a “There is no god, so let’s stop believe Bronze Age myths, and start working together to solve our problems” Baptist.
In other news, it’s nice to see the government does not have anything more important to worry about.
7Turning Texas BLUE, starting with screwy Louie….what a devious but delightful thought.
8Ditto, Brian…. dry cleaning bag, or two.
9What part of “no law” in “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” does he not understand. You can’t get more specific than that. It doesn’t have to say “separation of church and state” to mean separation of church and state.
10Three of the Supreme Court Judges are Jewish, and the rest are Roman Catholic. Louie’s bill should go over well with them.
11To Nancy Jane Moore at comment #10:
There are a few other concepts that conservatives love that are not mentioned explicitly by name in the Constitution.
“States’ rights” is not in the Constitution.
Also: The 2nd Amendment talks about the right to “bear arms”. It does not specify guns. Knives and swords are a type of arms, yet in Texas there are a lot of laws restricting the ownership of those. Yet not a peep about that from the “2nd Amendment Patriots”.
If you are really close, I think a knife would be more useful than a gun.
12Now, now, y’all go put your dry cleaning bags away. You know that a paper bag is plenty significant. Just tell the truth, long and loud. I like Rhea’s comment; I never knew that. I hate to admit it but history courses were the only ones that got me hauled in to see the professors. I personally think we oughta pool our nickels and dimes and put up a great big billboard about the Treaty with Tripoli. Doncha all think that would be a good addition to relieving highway boredom? Just so nobody gets pulled over for having screaming arguments about it?
13Everyday Freethought, I heard once about a woman using a high heeled slipper as a weapon to save herself from a burglar. It worked.
14There are other ways for a woman to protect herself other than a high-heeled slipper as described in this very old Mike Royko column. I’d say she handled the situation very nicely.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930430&slug=1698689
15english teacher………..I bet his voice is an octave or two higher these days as well………….what a story!…..good for her!
16That story from The Seattle Times has to be an all time great.
17Thanks for posting it.