"God bless Cecil Bothwell" I'm lovin' this Asheville NC story.

[G_j]

I'm lovin' this local story gone viral. I've known Cecil for years through activist work.
I've also met and spoken with Edgerton.
It's all good!


http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009312160026

Boyle: Cecil Bothwell storm puts focus on North Carolina Constitution
John Boyle • December 16, 2009

God bless Cecil Bothwell.

In less than a week in office, our fair town's newest city councilman has garnered little ol' Asheville national attention and highlighted a state constitutional issue that makes the Tar Heel State look remarkably foolish: a requirement that elected officials must believe in God. Bothwell has chinwagged on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show, been quoted in the New York Times (Hey NYT fact-checkers: It's “Asheville,” not “Ashville”) and bloviated on the radio, all because some conservative activists are employing that arcane constitutional provision to try to force him out of office.

OK, actually H.K. Edgerton, our quirky African-American former local NAACP head who frequently dresses up as a Confederate soldier to promote Southern heritage, brought all this up. Generally speaking, when H.K. Edgerton is protesting you, you're doing something right.

In this case, I suspect some conservative movers and shakers who just don't like Bothwell and his uber-liberalism helped Edgerton along in bringing the legal questions to light. But whatever happened, this time I think the blind squirrel got hold of a genuine nut.

The N.C. Constitution does indeed state, in Article 6, section 8: “The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.”

Bothwell has described himself previously as an atheist, although now he says he's a post-theist, which he describes thusly: “A post-theist doesn't consider the question of God's existence as relevant to life as we live it.

..more..

[la_chupa]

1. Asheville is pretty liberal too

it's fun to watch this

[G_j]

2. & Bothwell is certainly one of the most progressive people

to be elected to city council.