"Amish Veterans for Bush!"

[Bluebear]

Supporters of President Bush cheer for him as he speaks at a Lancaster County campaign rally at Lancaster Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2004 in Lititz, Penn.

==
I thought the Amish were traditionally conscientious objectors to war. Or are these paid actors straight out of Karl's Kasting Kommissary?



At least this one has the salute down.

[Free2BMe]

1. Capable of sign stealing!

[Free2BMe]

2. Can they vote...?

[mrbassman03]

7. Well, I would hope so, being a democracy and all...

Anyway, they are holding their ticket to voting in their hands. That big blue sign gets them a harassment free voting experience.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

16. No they don't vote, though

They ARE allowed, of course. After all, they aren't black. But they don't. It's against their religion.

[kokomo]

33. Amish even refuse to pay into or accept Social Security.

They shun insurance as their communal lifestyle commands that they take care of their own. Your house burns, the community builds you a new one!

Amish are exempted by the state for religious reasons from sending their children to school until age 17. They have their own schools and only believe in an 8th grade education, enough learning to read the Bible but not so much as to ask questions. They also learn to "cipher" so they can keep books, but not so much as to work physics problems.

They are pacifists and will only accept positions in the military such as medics, paper shufflers which don't require them to carry a weapon.

[judge_smales]

8. Yes they can.

But they ususally only vote on very local issues.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

3. Oh my bloody hell

Amish aren't supposed to even get involved in politics OR the workings of the government. They don't even freaking VOTE.

What the hell is up with this?

Bet you five dollars they aren't actually Amish.

Where's Dookus when you need him?


(Um and what do those "Amish" think of his war in Iraq, I wonder?)

[yardwork]

11. Amish people CAN vote

They usually don't, but they can if their leaders decide to do so.

The Amish are not a homogenous bloc. Each individual Amish community is led by "elders" - men who decide everything for the group.

[BayStateBoy]

22. The Amish are among the Worst Animal Abusers on Earth

They funnel their broken down horses into the infamous New Holland Horse Auctions every Monday.

From there about 40% or more take a one way trip to slaughter houses in Ontario Canada, or to the two Belgian owned and operated slaughter houses in TEXAS.

Horse meat is then air freighted to Europe where it is eaten as a "delicacy." Vast majority goes to Belgium and France. Fuck 'em.

[yardwork]

26. I know. They aren't very good about human rights, either

I grew up in Amish country. They have beautiful organic farms, but that's about the only nice thing I can think to say about their lifestyles.

Women's rights, child labor laws, education, animal rights....very poor.

[BayStateBoy]

32. Amish are all around assholes. Forget them as a political force

If Bush is trolling for Amish then he's in deep shit.

[Desertrose]

34. let me guess...you must live near them LOL

Sounds like familiar phrases for those who have had to deal with them LOL

[BayStateBoy]

39. No. I Don't Live Near Them, thank God... I'm Just well-read

[obiwan]

74. I used to live near them, in Indiana...

...generally dull and peaceful people. I remember running over thousands of their road apples, especially around Middlebury.

[kokomo]

40. I grew up around many Amish. They are fine people.

Such bigotry towards Amish doesn't bode well for a Democratic board.

Northeastern Indiana has a large Amish population, and their less conservative offshoots, the Mennonites, Dunkards, and Brethren.

We had a horrible tornado in our county years back killing 9 people. The Amish were the first to roll up their sleeves and contributed hard labor for the clean-up and rebuilding without asking for a dime.

They are pacifists and try hard to emulate what Jesus taught. They come close to practicing true communism, not the corrupted Marxism of the Soviet Stalinists.

[yardwork]

46. I grew up around many Amish, and I am not bigoted toward them.

I am objective. I look at their lifestyles and see the good and the bad, and I'm reporting what I know.

[goddess40]

49. These guy don't look to passive to me.

They are a patriarchal society - Women have no say. They also are abusive to their children. I've heard that they have the same sex scandal that the Catholic church has.
It is hard to break away from this group - if you want out you have to be willing to have your family turn their backs on you.
I don't see what is to be admired about them, other than stories about how wonderful they are.

[Desertrose]

54. Amish are people like all the rest of us....

but I have seen the way many treated their animals and have cried at the way the horses are treated like a dispensable piece of equipment....and many were not always fair in their business dealings with the English... (I was stuck with long distance phone bills when my Amish neighbors moved out after I allowed them to use my phone.)

They are also not such great stewards of the land-in Lanc CO Pa they do not always practice the best farming methods (too much manure & runoff-although it is a common enough practice with farmers who have dairy herds)

I've known friends who were shunned- that is a hard and rigid religion, don't kid yourself.....but I've also had good experiences with some families, too.


Thye are no better or worse than the rest of the human race......

[HuskerDem]

55. Yeah, fine people that hide incest and child rape and all other manner of

horrors from the law behind a bullshit cloak of religion.

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2004/03/28/news/00lead.txt

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=189191&page=1

http://www.amishabuse.com/byler.htm

"I was molested by my father when I was 3 and gang-raped day after day by my cousins and brothers, starting when I was 6 or 7," she told the Star Tribune before Wednesday's sentencing. Byler, 20, alleges that she was raped more than 200 times by members of the Amish family in which she grew up. "And when I'd tell my mother about it, she'd tell me that if I had prayed harder, fought harder, these things wouldn't happen. "I was sent to school ... and my mother told me, 'If you truly don't want this to happen, it won't.' I've been judged by the Amish all my life. I've been on trial all my life." <snip> And family members within her home were sexually assaulting her, looking the other way or accusing her of instigating rape. "If it happened many times, it's not rape anymore. She's probably asking for it," said Byler's stepfather, William Kempf, 78, in a Star Tribune interview in April. On Wednesday, he said before the sentencing: "Mary's been brainwashed." Kempf, charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of battery against Mary Byler, pleaded no contest last month to lesser charges of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct and was sentenced to 18 months probation. His comments were typical of what Mary Byler said she's heard since her childhood in western Pennsylvania, where the sexual assaults began, she said. <snip>

HERES THE KICKER: "Crime in the Amish community rarely is reported because contact with mainstream society is so limited, and the Amish have their own justice system. An Amish bishop said last week the three men charged had already been punished when church leaders became aware of the situation. Johnny Byler was banned from the church for at least six weeks, Bishop Dan Miller said, Eli Byler had to stay home until he showed improvement, and William Kempf had to admit he'd done wrong and ask for forgiveness. In Amish culture, Morse-Kahn told the group, the 20-year-old woman going to local authorities is like turning her back on the Amish community. The woman is now in what the sheriff's department is calling "a protected environment."

OK, one sick SOB has to stay home from church for 6 weeks, that's his punishment.

Sick SOB #2? He has to "stay home till he shows improvement?" THAT'S WHERE HIS VICTIM IS!!!!!!!!! What is "improvement"? Less brutal rape?

Sick SOB #3 has to say he's sorry.

Shit. I know deviance occurs in every society. I think society is best judged on how they deal with it and on that note, THE AMISH SUCK!

I'm pretty sure that condoning gang rape is not what Jesus had in mind.

[Desertrose]

30. you are so right on that one BSB

I lived with em for 40+ years and the way they treat their animals is horrendous......the stories I could tell...

and yeah, New Holland Auction.....makes me sick & angry just remembering it.....:grr::puke:

(of course there was the occasional rare exception of a very few treating them decently)

[MsTryska]

38. I'm not sure what's wrong with that?

But i'm also a meat eater. granted, i've never eaten Horse. Almost married a belgian heir who did, tho.

[carpetbagger]

64. Yeah, but they can't be veterans.

Maybe they meant veternarians.

[NAO]

66. They Don't Know about the Iraq War...Haven't Seen it on the TV

[yardwork]

4. The little kid holding the sign does not look Amish

He's wearing a grey hoodie - not typical Amish attire.

I heard that shrub was campaigning among the Amish in Pennsylvania and Ohio, totally on the abortion issue. He neglects to mention the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

You are correct - all the Amish I've ever known about were totally anti-war. They're being duped into voting for shrub. I hope that most of them think better of it.

[CO Liberal]

13. Doesn't Look Old Enough To Be a Veteran, Either....

:-)

[Kolesar]

20. "Future Fodder for Bush-Cheney" eom

[Anakin Skywalker]

24. I Have Some Questions.

The problem I see is that the Amish don't watch the news. So they are missing out on all the good reasons NOT to vote for Bush. And what kind of papers do Amish get anyway? Are they censored versions of world events? Does anyone know? Seems like Bush is once again using religiosity to get people on his side.

[Bluebear]

27. He did tell them God speaks through him. nt

[yardwork]

36. You are exactly right.

Most Amish don't use electricity in their homes so they don't watch TV. They don't go to the movies. They rarely read newspapers or pay much attention to anything going on outside their small communities, where they farm, work in construction, and make furniture and crafts for sale to the rest of us.

Amish people are governed by local male elders who decide everything in their community. In each fanily, the husband is the head of the household and determines anything that the elders haven't already decreed upon.

It would be very easy to influence Amish into voting based on a single issue. All it would take would be for the shrub campaign to influence local elders, who would then direct their groups to vote accordingly.

Even so, I doubt they would allow women to vote (note that the only Amish people in that photo are grown men).

Also, every single local Amish community (and there are tens of thousands scattered over a half-dozen states) would have to be convinced.

Convincing one group in Lancaster, Pennsylvania doesn't mean that the other local groups will vote for shrub, and it certainly doesn't mean that other groups in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, or other states will vote.

This is a photo opportunity.

[judge_smales]

5. Something is wrong here.

The Amish do NOT serve. No one even asks them anymore. (Not that they'd make very good soldiers anyway)

[liberal N proud]

6. The ammmmish don't get FAUX how did they become so endeared to

the shrub?
I can just see all the black buggies lined up outside the airport, did they hire amish taxies (15 pass. vans) to cart them all from the homestead.

[yardwork]

19. See my post #4 above - shrub has been campaigning in Amish communities

He tells them that he is working hard to make abortion illegal (a blatant lie) and that his evil opponent, John Kerry, the devil incarnate, is working to do...who knows what.

More lies from the repukes and more people being duped. It sickens me.

[judge_smales]

21. The GOP has been very active

out there lately. They felt that their conservative, family values message (uh oh, I'm geting nauseouos just typing this) would go over well. And in Pennsy and OH they just flat need any vote they can get.

[Bluebear]

44. Stretch buggies!

[Bossy Monkey]

72. No, sport utility buggies n/t

[DieboldMustDie]

9. That kid holding the sign seems a little young to be a veteran.

:shrug:

[progressivebydesign]

10. A 12 year old VETERAN! WOW!! CHild labor! n/t

[MsTryska]

12. This stinks of something....

fishy.

[mindem]

14. Oxymoron N/T

[JimmyJazz]

15. Oh good grief - now I have seen everything

http://politicnews.orb6.com/stories/afp/20041008/us_vote_religion_amish.php

Apparently, one teeny little war isn't enough to keep the Amish from voting Rebuplican! Damn. I thought these people knew better.

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. This looks like a typical bush crowd

inbred, reactionary, happy to live in a 15th century world.

[fob]

18. Correction 12 Year-old Amish Veterans for bush* - HAHAHAHA

BTW this is proof bush* is calling the shots for his own campaign. He's spending time in the last week giving a speech to a bloc that DOESN'T VOTE!

Maybe bush* will regale them with tales of his rumspringa in "Bama during the fall of 1972 (that lasted until 1988ish).

[Desertrose]

23. grew up in Lanc Co, Pa...Amish don't have buttons...

Check out the guy in the second photo down, rt corner...
He has a button on his shirt..a collar and a white Hanes T-shirt :wtf:

Sure doesn't look like any typical Amish I ever saw...plus the kids don't wear "English clothes"...

...AND, I VERY MUCH DOUBT they'd be at the airport for a political gathering...smells phony to me.

[Mad_Dem_X]

25. You mean, another phony * photo-op? Say it ain't so!

:boring:

[vetwife]

29. SHEER DESPERATION !

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

28. Yep you're right, good catch

those are NOT Amish kids, that's for sure.

I can just see the repuke operatives in that area several weeks ago: ok guys be sure to grow out your beards but NOT a moustache!!! And only off your chin!!!

But some black coats and those weird hats!

[PROGRESSIVE1]

31. So this is another "Parlock" then?

:eyes:

[yardwork]

41. Their clothesand faces look the Amish I know in Ohio....

but if the Amish in Lancaster, PA don't use buttons, maybe these guys were flown in from Ohio? I know, they aren't supposed to use airplanes.

However, the Amish in eastern Ohio are willing to bend the rules quite a bit as long as they make money doing it and it only affects the men.

In other words, it's ok for Amish contractors to ride around in air conditioned cars, use heavy machinery, and talk on their cell phones - as long as the women don't use any electricity to cook, clean, sew everything, grow vegetables, etc.

Many Amish farms have electricity in the barns (where the men do their work) but none in the house (where the women do their work).

[DrWeird]

45. Not to mention the fake beards.

nt

[Say_What]

75. I've been to their Buggy Auctions in Deleware and they are

a very understated and quiet people. These folks look like they're at a football game. Gotta be staged I think. And Delaware online is reporting:

...Many Amish people attended. Although they do not vote, several said they wanted to see the president and show their support. "Bush has taken a good moral stand in the last four years," said Lee Stoltzfus, of Leola, Pa., who described himself as Christian. "We're all subject to divine power and Bush uses the word of God for his viewpoints."

Dan Smucker, a Mennonite from eastern Lancaster County, said he wanted to see Bush, even though he cannot vote.

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/10/28bushralliesthef.html

There was also a mention in the Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/special_packages/election2004/10034164.htm?1c

Google news only turned up 6 hits.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/news/2004/10/28/wus328.xml%26sSheet%3D/news/2004/10/28/ixworld.html

[Dcitizen]

35. Only 3 votes, the 4th one scracthing his head

[Desertrose]

37. to use a Vet for * sign- really really lame, whoever set this up

stands out like a sore thumb- no self respecting Amish would EVER be seen with a sign that relates to WAR. Give me a break...if this doesn't SHOUT photo-op, I don't know what does.


Besides...they don't usually yell and scream (the kids) in front of the "English" and without TV (Amish=no electricity)...how are these kids so informed and so eager??

What a crock of road apples!!!!!!!

[shraby]

42. They also would never ever have their picture taken.

That's a no-no.

[Desertrose]

52. D'oh!!! Right you are!

No photos for sure!!!
Never ever!

(Do they even have buggy parking there at the airport I wonder?? Not that I ever saw....)

[Francine Frensky]

62. wait a minute, you're thinking of ghosts!

or was it vampires?

[bluedog]

43. Lancaster County PA Newspaper /protesters/funerals

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - President Bush, scouring for votes less than a week before the election, implored some 20,000 cheering supporters here to “do everything you can” to “make America a safer country, a strong country.”
snip

Early in the president’s 35-minute speech, eight protesters in the crowd shouted, “Bush must go!”

They were escorted away from the crowd and taken to a “free speech zone’’ several hundred yards away from the rally.

At least one protester was dragged away by his collar.

Dozens of other protesters, confined to a cornfield several hundred yards from the rally, held a mock funeral procession with 72 flag-draped coffins representing the 72 Pennsylvanians killed in the Iraq war. Several carried signs, including one that read “Bush lies, kids die.”

The “Smoketown Six,” a group who has protested recent Bush visits to the area by re-enacting the human-pyramid photo of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, was also present.
snip

http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/9362

[bluedog]

47. Reminders for Visitors to Amish Country

Reminders for Visitors to Amish Country
Although thousands of visitors come to Lancaster County to experience a bit of the Amish lifestyle, the Amish are a private people and find the attention somewhat disconcerting. It is, therefore, important to respect their feelings while you’re visiting. With that in mind, here are a few tips for fostering good relations between the Amish and non-Amish.

No pictures, please!

Don’t ask an Amish person to pose for a picture. If asked, most will politely refuse. It is against the convictions of our Amish neighbors to have their pictures taken, except in very special situations. Please respect this belief and do not take photos without permission, just as you would like to have your beliefs respect


http://www.amishnews.com/amisharticles/reminders.htm

[Bluebear]

48. Thank you. nt

[bluedog]

51. 9-11 and the Amish

After September 11

The local Lancaster paper had a short article on the "Amish reaction" to the shocking events of September 11, 2001. They were as horrified as anyone else. Indeed, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania went down in an area partly populated by Plain folk. Most of what they knew and saw came from newspapers and magazines, not TV.

A few flags did appear in windows, although the church did not condone such shows of "patriotism". There were auctions here organized by non-Amish, to which Amish donated many valuable items. While they do support the government, many wished there could have been a non-military solution, and surely prayers were offered for those who lost their lives on both sides of the conflict.

http://www.amishnews.com/amisharticles/peopleofpeace.htm

[durablend]

50. Shocking they didn't just shoot them on sight...

"How DARE you oppose our king"

:puke:

[Desertrose]

58. OMG ....I know the Rutts

and it would the religious part she likes...they have a friggin' huge dairy farm....

This world is just too small sometimes.....

(so glad I'm no longer in repuke Lanc co...altho my repub ex voted for Kerry wahoo!!!)

[MADem]

53. THE roads heavily travelled by their buggies

...need some ANTI WAR freeway BLOGGING, I'd say!

[Desertrose]

56. the roads travelled by buggies are in terrible shape

The horses have to be shod with borium so the shoes don't slip ( or rubber shoes- more expensive but better for the horse)...and that stuff totally shreds the roads. There was always a deep groove down the center of each lane from the pounding hooves.

[IronLionZion]

57. Amish usually are not political

those folks in the photo are highly suspect. I guess no one told them Bush loves war and hates hard work.

[Malva Zebrina]

59. I used to like to travel to Amish country in Pa. when I lived in NJ

and will never buy a thing again from their farmer markets. We travel a lot. No more stops at the Amish markets.

[kokomo]

60. I love to buy their homemade bread, shoo-fly pie, and scrapple.

Some said there could be no "vets" since they don't serve in the military. But they were once drafted but most took Conscientious Objector status and only served in military units as non-combatants. The Amish hierarchy became disturbed when half of those who did serve in the military saw a bigger world outside and didn't return to the Amish faith.

[Bluebear]

61. Evidently these guys are not concerned. Or are actors!

:)

[Say_What]

76. BUTTER....

their butter is great too. Reminds me of what my grandparents had when I was growing up.

[hippiegranny]

63. I was born in Lancaster, PA,

lived in central PA for my first 25 years, and go there every year to visit my family. These pics do not pass the smell test. Except that those photographed look innerbred, none of the rest of it rings true. They do not like to be photographed, they are vehemently anti-war, and they are quiet and never boisterous or crowd happy like the people shown here. These "Amish" seem nothing like the people I have observed all my life. They must be one of those wild and crazy break-away sects!

[Dcitizen]

67. True, after Octoberfest

few red faces went nuts.

[Tweed]

65. They support abortion rights and the ban on homosexual marriage

[HuskerDem]

70. I think they maysupport abortion rights because they have an incest prob:

See post @55.

[Robeson]

68. Good, I'm glad they support him. Now...

...we know where we can get some fresh recruits to throw into the Iraqi front, in the event that BushCo, Inc. steals the election. And my best friend, who I grew up with my whole life, and is 40 years old, and was sent to Iraq with 2 months left before his retirement, can now come home to his children. Bush has to go. This just makes me sick.

[GingerSnaps]

69. The man with his hand up is

Noddy Holder from Slade.

[JSJ]

71. screw the amish- those damn black asshats!

[Bossy Monkey]

73. Always good to have the pro-16th century folks on your side n/t