Ooops. Lousiana GOP discovers that America has more than one religion
by digby
Guess what? Some of those Louisiana politicians who voted to give public education funds to religious schools are having second thoughts. But not for the reasons we might have hoped.
Valerie Hodges is a Louisiana state Senator:
Valarie Hodges admitted that when she supported Governor Bobby Jindal’s school voucher program, she only did so because she assumed the religious school vouchers could only be used for Christian schools. Religious freedom means that everyone’s free to follow Valarie Hodges’ religion! She explains,
I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools. I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school. (read on …)
I would guess that most immigrants taking the citizenship test undertand just how Un-American that is. Fundamentally Un-American.
Still, I think it makes some sense in her world. After all, they get their information about the Constitution from pseudo-historian charlatans like David Barton:
Last week we wrote another post in our on-going series highlighting social and governmental institutional that David Barton claims came directly out of the Bible. And today we found a presentation that Barton delivered last month where he once again made all of these now standard claims, but this time with the additional claim that the Constitution’s provision regarding treason “is a verbatim quote out of Ezekiel 18:20”
Here is Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.
And here is Ezekiel 18:20:
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
You’d think at least the Bible people would be offended, but apparently not.
The far right has been brainwashed into thinking that America was intended to be an explicitly Christian nation. (Sometimes they’ll agree that the Jews have a claim as well.) But even if one is now thoroughly confused about what “free exercise” of religion means due to the shiny new “liberty” argument, one would think that the Constitution is still clear on the establishing part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” But then I suppose that anyone who can believe that the Bible says “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them” verbatim isn’t going to be dissuaded by the plain words in the Constitution.
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