Obama administration sides with Republicans in defending legislative prayers

[MellowDem]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/08/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-town-of-greece-v-galloway-the-supreme-court-case-about-government-prayer/

Summary: Town has only Christian prayers for years, gets called out on it, court of appeals rules it's not constitutional. Conservative Supreme Court decides to take case, 32 Republican Senators and 84 Republican House members file briefs defending the practice. Only 2 Democrats, one senator and one house member, join them, and, oh yeah, the Obama administration.

WTF? ANY prayer is unconstitutional and harmful, much less sectarian prayer, carried out by government bodies, what the hell is the Obama administration thinking?

Here is the Obama defense, joining all those fun conservatives. Disgusting:

http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_court_preview/briefs-v2/12-696_pet_amcu_usa.authcheckdam.pdf

With friends like these....

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Constitutional Scholar

[Ed Suspicious]

2. Republican wannabe President Obama sides with republicans or takes up republican position is

not even news anymore.

[MotherPetrie]

3. K&R

[mick063]

4. I could of sworn there was a (D) by his name.

n/t

[leftstreet]

5. IT'S ONLY A TWO MINU...TERM PRAYER!!!!11111 n/t

[msongs]

6. he is obviously a paulite/liberarian/tea party promoter... :-) nt

[brer cat]

7. Since opening sessions with a prayer

dates back to the Continental Congress in the 1770s, I can see where some would assume this is Obama's fault.

[MellowDem]

8. Slavery goes back farther than that... Your point?

Is it Obama's fault for actively defending violations of religious freedom, no matter how far back they go, with theocratic-minded Repubs as his allies? Yup.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. I'm not sure if I would compare prayer to slavery

I consider myself an atheist, but I certainly wouldn't make that comparison.

[MellowDem]

10. I didn't...

The point is that something is not right just because it has been going on a long time.

Whether your an atheist or not has nothing to do with such terrible logic.

[NuclearDem]

11. Well, if it's been the case since the 18th century

Then we should just keep doing it!

[LostOne4Ever]

12. The real question

Is why the hell they even need an officially sanctioned prayer to begin a meeting with in the first place?

Want god's guidance? Why not just go and get together with other believers outside before the proceedings even begin. You can have any type of prayer you want, to whatever god you want, and it affects nobody but you.

INSTEAD we have to use the PUBLIC'S time to be seen in public being pious (do I need to quote what Yeshua thought of that?) instead of just getting down to business.

Its a divisive ritual that really does not need to be there in the first place and if the SCotUS were the least bit rational they would just ban it altogether.

[frylock]

13. what part of go into your closet and pray to your father in secret..

do these assholes not understand?

[pintobean]

14. Is that in the 1st amendment?

Why, no, it's not.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

[frylock]

16. the fuck are you talking about?

I make a comment about the hypocrisy of these idiots and you go first amendment? You should actually READ your damn bible ffs.

[pintobean]

17. I don't turn to the bible to answer constitutional questions.

It seems like that would go against the establishment clause.

I don't own a bible and I see no need to read one.

[frylock]

18. well you keep fighting that good fight..

and i'll continue to call out these hypocrites that DO turn to the bible to answer constitutional questions.

[Logical]

15. Amazing. n-t