Posted on 09/24/2008 4:27:29 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
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. -- First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
Because John Mashek is apparently so utterly unfamiliar with it, I'm setting out the text of the First Amendment for his ease of reference. According to his column in U.S. News, the Roman Catholic bishop of Scranton, PA violates the First Amendment by denying Joe Biden communion because of his support for abortion rights.
Writes Mashek [emphasis added]:
Biden, like 14 other Democrats in the Senate, is both pro-choice and Catholic. So the bishop decreed that the party's vice presidential candidate was not welcome at the communion rail. These Senate Democrats and many other Catholicsincluding this writerdo not necessarily favor abortion, but we do not feel our religious views should be foisted on others in a nation where church and state are divided.
. . .
That division of church and state has application here. No priest, minister, or rabbi should be telling the flock how to vote or for whom. Some do, and they are wrong.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
Mashek's article seems to violate the First Commandment.
This guy actually has a job writing the news? Good God standards have dropped.
There, now you'll have to stop FReeping until the kitteh wakes up!
No, I was too little.
But I’m sure it didn’t happen.
I read part of your “thesis” that you linked. The one thing I find missing in your post is that there is no mention of Slander. It’s not “all good”, not by any means when people are PURPOSEFULLY mis-leading and mis-educating, and using outright LIES to sway the minds of others.
We do indeed have the right NOT to be lied to, or perhaps put more succinctly not to be lied ABOUT. If it was “all good” there would be no libel or slander laws in the first place...
You say that’s it’s OK if no-one attempts to ENFORCE the error. Well, there are plenty of people out there who would like nothing MORE than to “enforce” these errors of thinking. Hence, why we NEED to be on every journalists’ case that reports LIES and “half-truths”.
I’ll spend time later reading your linked post more thoroughly, but from what I’ve read - although I do (sort of) understand where you are coming from when you link in the AP - I don’t agree that a the 1st Amendment establishing the right to a Free Press is more like having the RIGHT to be lied to, than the right NOT to be lied to. In saying that you sound exactly like the college interns at the RMN who were defending the papers’ decisions to print lies in their voters’ guide by saying the “First Amendment guarantees we can print WHATEVER we want”. If that were truly the case - as I said before - then there would be no slander or libel laws on our books.
What religion does Mashek belong to....can’t be Catholic. What an IDIOT!
What I’ve noticed is that “Catholics” such as Mr. Mashek always bring up some meaningless legalistic blither - and this one is stupider than most - instead of just saying, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with abortion, and also, I’m gay.”
Just one look at him has my eyes rolling back in my head. It’s nap time!
ROFL... That’s about the gist of it isn’t it? One finds it hard to imagine that a (presumably?) US Citizen could be this screwed up when it comes to understanding the Constitution, but I suppose anything is possible when dealing with liberals!
Calling Mashek a twit would be an insult to real twits.
Biden is required by church law to follow the moral rules of the Church. He cannot support abortion in any capacity, including the political. It is his moral duty to protect innocent life and to persuade others to do so. There is no branch of Christianity which teaches that there is a right to an abortion. The free exercise and establishment clauses do not apply to pro-abortionism. Protestants (or liberal Catholics) who claim there is a religious basis for supporting abortion rights are in error.
The Church does not teach that it is a religious mystery that unborn children are human beings worthy of lawful protection from harm, but as a fact. Biden , therefore, would not be "imposing" an article of faith if he were to support pro-life positions. It doesn't require a leap of faith to acknowledge unborn children as human beings worthy of respect and protection from harm.
Yeah! Congress should pass a law that specifically names Biden and Pelosi, and forces the Church to give them Communion!
Yeah!
And Bishop Joseph Martino should have his diocese seized by the government! Yeah!
And he should be imprisoned and fined for what he said about Biden! Yeah!
Congress could pass a law doing this tomorrow! Yeah!
Good God. What a bunch of freaking morons. I'm pretty sure FDR said something about this kind of civic ignorance in his televised 1929 speech about the Wall Street meltdown...
” I dont think theres anything wrong with abortion, and also, Im gay.”
OMG!!
That is too funny.
Thanks for the belly laugh :)
“What religion does Mashek belong to....cant be Catholic. What an IDIOT!”
Sigh.
I know a handful of catholics who could have written that article.
Mark
“Yeah! Congress should pass a law that specifically names Biden and Pelosi, and forces the Church to give them Communion!
Yeah!
And Bishop Joseph Martino should have his diocese seized by the government! Yeah!
And he should be imprisoned and fined for what he said about Biden! Yeah!
Congress could pass a law doing this tomorrow! Yeah!
Good God. What a bunch of freaking morons. I’m pretty sure FDR said something about this kind of civic ignorance in his televised 1929 speech about the Wall Street meltdown...’
LOL!!
Is it just me?
Or are mass numbers of people literally going mad before our eyes?
It’s like aliens invaded and turned them into pod people.
Look at Pelosi for ex: - she epitomizes what is going on - stark raving mad! loony tunes?
Anyone see Naomi Wolfe’s meltdown?
Half our nation has caught some whacko virus.
Bishop Martino confirmed my son 2 yrs. ago - and after reading this article, I couldn’t be happier about that!
I mean. uh.
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