VIDEO

O'Donnell: Let's Banish the Bible On Inauguration Day

It bashes gays, but won't bash slavery, he says

Jan 11, 2013 by Dain Fitzgerald

Staff Writer t

Image: YouTube

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell thinks the ritual known as Inauguration Day could get along just fine without the good book. Indeed, he doesn't think the book is so good.

Real Clear Politics passes along news of O'Donnell's opinion, delivered via his show "The Last Word," that the Bible ought be scrapped in the upcoming inauguration ceremony to be held on January 20th. Using the controversy surrounding the pastor initially chosen to host the proceedings who has since been uninvited for anti-gay remarks as a launching point, O'Donnell questions the appropriateness of the Bible's values in the modern era. And for the First Lady in particular:

The book will be held by a First Lady who is a descendent of slaves. But the holy book she will be holding does not contain one word of God condemning slavery. Not one word. But that same book, which spends hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages condemning all sorts of things and couldn't find one sentence to condemn slavery, does indeed find the space to repeatedly condemn gay people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sk-U3GctI8

Via Real Clear Politics.

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Comments (view in Forum)

Jan '13

jessejaymes

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If I had the power all religious people would have the right to worship as they pleased in their house of worship and home. Bringing it up in public would be grounds for deportation.
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Jan '13

Thunderchicken

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Ain't nobody's business but my own.
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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@Thunderchicken That is correct and it's between you and your God as I understand it.
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Jan '13

DyingBreed

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So you would be a tyrant, then?
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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@DyingBreed In what way? Because I would demand separation of Church and state? You betcha.
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Jan '13

DyingBreed

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@jessejaymes You would demand separation of Church and public life. If I were to demand the same thing of atheists, I would be a tyrant, would I not?

I prefer freedom of religion and speech, where no matter what your beliefs are concerning the metaphysical, you can express them where you like. I don't want to force anyone to keep their beliefs private.

Did you move here from the USSR?
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Jan '13

Souljah

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He needs to zip it unless he says we should ban ALL religious undertones during inaugaration.. besides christianity represents around 70 - 75 percent of all Americans.. I think its fair to say having in a Bible present in inauguration should be tolerated..
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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We should ban all religious undertones during any government activity.
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Jan '13

Souljah

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@Cheenoguy that in my opinion is alot fairer than just banning the bible..
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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@Souljah
I don't think O'Donnel would disagree.
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Jan '13

MsJeannette

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There is no other way accept with The Bible.
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Jan '13

RedFloppyShoes

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O'Donnell is an idiot. This is the most press that he gets. His show is contrived and he tries to be sensational for the sake of being sensational.
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Jan '13

methinks

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Comments like this just show why MSLSD's ratings are in the crapper. What an ass.
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Jan '13

jules61

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he is irrelevant. as are alot of his ilk. but being a moron will not make your relevant. you will just look extremely stupid and more pathetic.
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Jan '13

marine1

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Do we do anything in this country besides create discontent?
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Jan '13

thejimbo

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I don't see that we're good for much else anymore besides ruffling each other's feathers...smh
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Jan '13

marine1

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@jamesmitchell You might be right, What a sad turn of events
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Jan '13

Rocker

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About a month ago, the editors put up a thread asking 'Is there a War on Religion'?. I think this pretty much answers that question.
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Jan '13

commonsense51

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The fact that there are a number of people who agree with this idiot tells us why America is in the gutter it's in. The more these idiots censor God from our land, the father down the gutter we go. They will never see the lies from the left because everyone wants the free ride without having to work for it. They want to sleep around, take drugs, and never hear one person tell them how irresponsible they are. This is the new age self love, hate God culture that is bankrupting us. Who on earth would care what that ultra Liberal bigot against Christians has to say. Do you notice how is against anyone who says Gays should not be able to get married, but this hypocrite trashes Christians all the time. What phony hypocrites you Liberals are. You have tolerance for only the chosen ones.(your chosen ones) The rest of us can die for all you care.
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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I'm a 66 year old atheist. I've never been to jail, never been arrested, never convicted of a felony. College educated, business owner, kids college educated, none have ever been in jail. Nobody in my extended family has ever been on welfare, food stamps or to my knowledge ever even collected unemployment. Amazingly, we don't need your false god in our lives to be good people. And everyone dies. It's the nature of living.
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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Ditto what Jesse said (except I'm just a few years younger . . . :). And IMO any religious icon, book, or symbology should be banned from the inauguration. Worship however you like in your church and in your home, but please lose the arrogant assumption that because you believe it, it must be true for the rest of us.
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Jan '13

commonsense51

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@jessejaymes Paranoid are you? Did I once say Atheists were bad people? NO I said Liberals are idiots! Congratulations for raising your kids with values. Very few people in this self love culture do today since they censored God from our public square. You are the minority in case you missed it. I hope all your grand kids have a mother and father at home. Family is where our nation will be fixed or broken. Democrats want to replace family and God with Government. Governmnet will always corrupt. Smaller Government is what we were built on. Not the new age Democrat Government controlling all our lives.
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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Pretty pathetic that you only have morality because of your fear of an imaginary friend. It's good thing you have your mythology because otherwise you would obviously be snorting coke off of some dude's hairy rear end.
Nothing like arrogance about morality from people who believe in a book that condones genocide and slavering but calls for the stoning of mouthy kids and considers it a horrible sin for a man to get it on with his wife if she is menstruating.
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Jan '13

commonsense51

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@Denizen_Kate You are scary and people who think like this are so lost not knowing that Christianity is what made this nation great. Can't you open your eyes and see how terrible our nation is doing since it censored God from our public land? WAKE UP! Look around, look at the condition of our families. Look at the welfare roles.... WAKE UP!
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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The hypocrisy of the religious right is astounding. From the attempted genocide of the Native American who were given a choice to convert or die, to the Salem Witch trials, to the throwing of acid in the faces of Abortion clinic workers, to the bombing of black churches and abortion clinics, to the scandals of literally dozens of televangelists to murdering abortion doctors to the Westboro baptist church to pedophile minsters, priests, choir directors and church janitors, the track record of American "Christianity" would suggest you people need to stop whining about persecution and fall to your knees and thank your god that you haven't all been lined up and dumped off the side of a ship about 200 miles offshore.
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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You really are on a tear tonight, Jesse. Well stated.
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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@Denizen_Kate There is very few things in life that irritate me as much as the American "Christian" Taliban whining about persecution. They wrote the book on persecution. They should be ashamed of themselves.
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Jan '13

martydotcom

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Where is Neo on this sad proclamation. sad ....a tear what no bible ?? it 's like all things sad Obama's fault
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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@martydotcom Neo was here earlier. I don't get that upset with what Neo says. He's even older than I am I think and it's tough for some of the last of the geezers to move into the 20th century only to find out it's the 21st. Some things are just beyond their reach.
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Jan '13

martydotcom

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@jessejaymes
missed him 2 friends dragged me out for a wonderful sushi feast with mucho sipping of sake and Sapporo
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Jan '13

DARSB

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As a non-Christian I consider the inaugural bible just another prop for the ceremony, and as such it doesn't matter much to me whether it's used or not.

I do have to confess, though, that I enjoyed all the redneck apoplexy over Rep Keith Ellison, the only Muslim in Congress, being sworn in on a Q'uran. It being a copy owned by Thomas Jefferson was just delicious.
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Jan '13

thejimbo

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That really put the cherry on the parfait... ;)
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Jan '13

Vance1

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MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell is one of the most evil and whicked socialists on that far left secular progressive network.
He should be banned from being able to indoctrinate the folks.
Moral Value's in this country can be blamed directly on these people
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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No one is more wicked then the god from your bible.
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Jan '13

thejimbo

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There are much more fitting choices for books that Obama can be sworn in on than the Bible:

1)Frank Marshall Davis'(CPUSA#47544) FBI file.
2)The Bill Ayers book that Ayers dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan.
3)Rules for Radicals by Alinsky (dedicated to Lucifer).
4)The Koran, of course.
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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are you sure that you're not neo in disguise? that was really a sad comment.
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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@jamesmitchell the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy would work, too... or how about thomas jefferson's copy of grim's fairy tales?
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Jan '13

thejimbo

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@dances-weebles I wonder if Monticello would let them borrow Jefferson's copy from his personal library.
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Jan '13

twinertia

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The cognitive dissonance of the theist never fails to get a head-shake out of me.
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Jan '13

Dan_Tien

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Barack Obama says that he is a Christian, so why shouldn't he swear on a Bible? He must have come to terms with any of the points that what's-hi-name is bringing up. I think that the point of making someone swear on a Bible if they are a Christian is the hope that they will not break a vow made on something so important to them. People can swear on the Koran, the Book of Mormon or their mother for all I care. It's just a ceremony and I have no illusions that it will prevent anyone from lying if they choose to do so.
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Jan '13

DARSB

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Yup.
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Jan '13

marine1

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I didn't see me do it
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Jan '13

Food4thoughts

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I said no but it's more of a maybe...I'm fine with it being optional for each incoming President.
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Jan '13

paperdragons81

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I can agree with that.
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Jan '13

JustTheFacts

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I'm not a Bible scholar but wouldn't the Israelites being set free from the Egyptians be a primary example of God being against slavery?
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Jan '13

DARSB

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Interesting point. Consider all the explicit instructions and commandments in the bible, everything from which crops to plant to the duty of a man to marry his brother's widow. It's not that far from " thou shalt not kill" to " thou shalt not enslave." It seems out of character to force us to deduce the divine will from one incident.
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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It would have been had he not then condoned the Israelites owning slaves themselves.
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Jan '13

JustTheFacts

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@DARSB how about Exodus 21:16 - And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

How about this ...

The Bible doesn't condone the slavery most people think of.

"If your kinsman under you continues in straits (lit. if your brother becomes poor) and must give himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a slave. He shall remain with you as a hired or bound laborer; he shall serve with you only until the jubilee year. Then he and his children with him shall be free of your authority; he shall go back to his family and return to his ancestral holding. For they are My servants, whom I freed from the land of Egypt; they may not give themselves over into servitude. You shall not rule over him ruthlessly; you shall fear your God."

Seems anti-slavery to me :0)
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Jan '13

DARSB

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@JustTheFacts The Exodus verse seems to prohibit stealing slaves for resale while a prohibition of enslaving family members is a little disturbing - was that common enough that a formal rule was deemed necessary?
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Jan '13

JustTheFacts

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@Cheenoguy If you don't mind could you give me the verse where God condoned slavery. I know the Israelites after being freed screwed up many times but you can't say God condones something because man is an idiot.
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Jan '13

Deano

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I do not agree. You know guys like this bozo and others need there father to come back and take them out to the wood shed for and old fashion spanking for there over the top comments. This piece of work only said this for two reasons he is ignorant to the word of God, and next he wanted to piss of Christians, and most likely Conservative Jews. What happened to the news?
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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What a surprise. A Christian who believes in beating kids for using their brain.
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Jan '13

thejimbo

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@Cheenoguy Goober Alert!
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Jan '13

DARSB

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Like Ric Santorum and Newt Gingrich, Lawrence O'Donnell is a Roman Catholic.

As for irritating Christians, I'm not sure why his suggestion to ditch the bible during public, secular ceremonies should rankle anyone and might even draw applause from devout followers of other traditions.
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Jan '13
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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"There once was a time in which people like this would not get their own show!" That's true, and IMO what a disgrace that was! It is arrogant to demand that everyone believe what you believe, and to dismiss them as "-tards" of some sort if they don't. " ... just go die somewhere?" Do you really wish this man's death, and the deaths of those who agree with him? That isn't very Christian of you. Yes, this country is indeed "loaded with ignorance," starting right here.
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Jan '13

Romney2012

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@Denizen_Kate Thank you for making my point, and I'm sure you were the one who reported me.
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Jan '13

S-N-A-F-U

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@Denizen_Kate

It seems idiots, such as O'Donnell run rampant on MSNBC - Maybe that's why there in the tank on the Nielsen ratings. O'Donnell continued to refer to the OT (Mosaic law)-- we are no longer under that law, besides it was written for the Jews (Ex 12:43-47), and those laws have since been replaced by the New Covenant (NT) in 33 AD (C.E.).
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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@Romney2012 - I didn't. I haven't clicked that little Report icon in months. I can hold my own here without help from the moderators.
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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@S-N-A-F-U - I don't watch MSNBC, so not sure why your comment is directed at me.
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Jan '13

TheJimmy

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Is there even one talking head on the Right or Left who isn't smug? These nobodies are the bottom feeders of the media.
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Jan '13

Raptor

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We should respect the traditions of our country and respect our forefathers for having the wisdom to bring about the USA were we have the right to take into account different ideas and opinions, of all people and races. That is what make us above the rest. So I voted no, I think it is a duty we have to preserve the union to the best of our ability and our traditions.
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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"... we have the right to take into account different ideas and opinions, of all people and races." That is exactly why religious iconography should have no place in public ceremonies.
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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I know that some ministers,such as weebles say that there is nothing in the bible condemning homosexuality,if there isn,t,well there goes one major talking point...can,t have it both ways(pun not intended)..as far as slavery as far as I can tell the bible notes that it was an does occur,but no matter what your situation be the best example of a Christian that you can be,but i,m no theologian & and not a good example of Christian a good part of the time??,,,,
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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I think this guy just has too much time and taxpayers money on his hands and wants some attention
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Jan '13

DARSB

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@MongoAPillager "taxpayers money? "
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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@DARSB of course,he is in America,right?well all Americans pay taxes right?he gets his paycheck from Americans right?tah-dah
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Jan '13

jessejaymes

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@MongoAPillager Mongo you're off the reservation man. Nobody knows what the hell you're going off about?
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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@jessejaymes Wow,don,t get your depends in a bunch,why do you hate native Americans
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Jan '13

paperdragons81

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I think foodforthought has a good idea, If hes really a christan he should do it, and if he isn't then don't be a hippocrite and do it anyway.
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Jan '13

bsking

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I guess Larry's rating boost from challenging Mitt Romney's son to a boxing match is officially over. so this is his next ploy to get someone to watch his show
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Jan '13

OhWiseOne

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Liberals are scaring me much more than criminals nowadays. They want to ban guns, the Constitution, and now the Bible. Keep it up liberals. The more your agenda is exposed; the more enemies you make. That's a good thing for all freedom loving Americans.
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Jan '13

Mogal

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One can only suppose your own shadow is scaring you mightily these days, too.
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Jan '13

OhWiseOne

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@Mogal I keep waiting for you to say something of substance. Shall I keep waiting or give up?
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Jan '13

Mogal

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@OhWiseOne I've been awaiting the same thing of you, with bated breath, no less.
I find your posts endlessly entertaining, thank you. <3
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Jan '13

ConserveUSA

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I believe the times are nearing. We will stand all together!
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