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Pilots refuse to fly Independence Day atheist banners
LifeSiteNews.com ^ | July 4, 2011 | by John Jalsevac

Posted on 07/05/2011 10:16:10 AM PDT by topher

Pilots refuse to fly Independence Day atheist banners

by John Jalsevac

July 4, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An atheist organization that sought to celebrate Independence Day by flying banners promoting atheism all across the United States nearly ran into a major snag – most of the pilots working for the advertizing company refused to fly the banners.

USA Today reports that 4 out of 5 pilots working for Fly Signs Aerial Advertising refused to participate in the campaign, which involved banners saying, “God-less America,” and “Atheism is patriotic.”

Only 17 of the company’s 85 pilots agreed to participate.

USA Today quotes one of the pilots, Red Calvert, saying, “I respect our country and I respect our churches and we’ve got enough problems in our country without stirring up some more. If those people want to do something they believe in, fine, just don’t include me.”

The $23,000 campaign is a project of the group American Atheists.

Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists, said the pilots’ refusal stems from Americans’ “bigotry.” “This is a clear reminder of why we need to keep fighting because the bigotry against us is so thick that a lot of the pilots are afraid to fly our banners,” he said, according to CNN.

(Excerpt) Read more at lifesitenews.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: atheists; faith; losers; pilots
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To: topher

Besides, pilots are loath to gamble.

What if?


21 posted on 07/05/2011 10:35:02 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: ilovesarah2012
Since they were flying planes, they might not have wanted to tick God off.

They're safer then helicopters.

Anytime the wing is moving faster than the fuselage it has to be unsafe.

22 posted on 07/05/2011 10:35:20 AM PDT by Cowman (How can the IRS seize property without a warrant if the 4th amendment still stands?)
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To: topher

Bogotry is trying to demand no one be a Chrsitian or hold and religious views.


23 posted on 07/05/2011 10:37:38 AM PDT by CodeToad (Islam needs to be banned in the US and treated as a criminal enterprise.)
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To: topher

If they say it’s bigotry - it gets attention. They know exactly what they are doing, these godless maggots.


24 posted on 07/05/2011 10:40:21 AM PDT by presently no screen name ( The Palin Party: The Party of Patriots.)
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To: topher
I don't think many atheists are losers, I just think they are misguided, or better, unguided.

Personlly, I think that what atheists do or don't believe is between them and their creator. They are the ones who will have to answer for it if they are wrong, so it is their business.

But, I find this interesting from two perspectives:

1.) That there were so many who refused to cooperate (turned down money or jepoardized their jobs to refuse to promote an atheist agenda)

2.) That they are being allowed to do so without being pursued with legal tongs and hammers by atheist organizations.

The organization referred to their "fear" (the pilots) as bigotry, but it is nothing of the sort.

On a humorous note, a pilot might say quite seriously to the atheists:

PILOT TO ATHEIST: "You may see nothing wrong with flying a plane trailing a banner that pokes God in the eye, but I have a wife and kids, and I don't want to answer before God as to why I put him in the position of wishing to hit my plane with that lightning bolt!""

25 posted on 07/05/2011 10:41:17 AM PDT by rlmorel ("Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." Gilbert K. Chesterton)
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To: ZULU

“...These people are Statists - they believe that a MINUSCULE minority of people - Atheists - have the right to impose THEIR worldview on the MAJORITY of believers....”

The same way homos are doing.


26 posted on 07/05/2011 10:41:31 AM PDT by NCC-1701 (In Memphis on January 20, 2009, pump price were $1.49. We all know what happened after that.)
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To: topher

Bravo to the 62 pilots who didn’t let politcally correct pressure force them to do something they thought was morally wrong.


27 posted on 07/05/2011 10:45:26 AM PDT by American Quilter (Take back the White House and Senate in 2012--end the Obama Depression.)
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To: topher

Since our Rights come from God....how can anyone fly such banners....it is like saying we have no inalienable rights which is against the Constitution and the Principles of our legal system.

Actually, the US would be within Constitutional rights to ban atheists from all aspects of Constitutional government since they don’t acknowledge that we have God-given rights.

That is how the Founders thought and Atheists were marginalized and not allowed to testify in court. We should get back to the Founding principles of this country which includes Absolute Truth and God. Everyone who doesn’t acknowledge that are free to leave and join those atheist or pagan countries that have been so inferior and created the annihilation of 100’s of millions of human beings, plus abortion “rights” and “euthanasia” and homosexual “rights” where there is no sexual morality...since they don’t believe man is anything more that a “trousered ape”.


28 posted on 07/05/2011 10:46:00 AM PDT by savagesusie (Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason. Cicero)
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To: topher
These pilots have The Right Stuff!
29 posted on 07/05/2011 10:47:46 AM PDT by Emperor Palpatine (Can you afford to board the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?)
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To: rlmorel

Quick disclaimer: My previous post does not refer to militant atheists. THOSE people I don’t have any truck with.

It is the ones who, when you ask if they believe in God, shrug, pause and say “Well...I don’t know. I guess not.” I think those people can be helped. And even those who say “No. I don’t believe in God.” I think can be helped and at least tolerated, if that is as far as it goes.

It is the ones who try to sue to have “In God We Trust” removed from coinage, or the Ten Commandments removed from a courthouse, or who loudly and pointedly speak out in opposition to the belief in God. Them I have a problem with.

Hey, if you want to smoke a turd in hell, that is your choice, but don’t bring me into it.


30 posted on 07/05/2011 10:49:12 AM PDT by rlmorel ("Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." Gilbert K. Chesterton)
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To: topher

I wonder if Dave Silverman would claim fear of bigotry as a reason he doesn’t sport a Pro-Life bumper sticker on his Prius?


31 posted on 07/05/2011 10:49:16 AM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: ilovesarah2012
Since they were flying planes, they might not have wanted to tick God off.

LOL!

32 posted on 07/05/2011 10:52:29 AM PDT by proud American in Canada (To paraphrase Sarah Palin: "I love when the liberals get all wee-wee'd up.")
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To: topher

“If you believe in nothing, you’ll fall for anything.”

-Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the United States Senate


33 posted on 07/05/2011 10:53:19 AM PDT by Emperor Palpatine (Can you afford to board the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?)
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To: topher

God is my co-pilot.


34 posted on 07/05/2011 10:54:25 AM PDT by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: ilovesarah2012

“High Flight”

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

-John Gillespie Magee, RCAF


35 posted on 07/05/2011 10:59:53 AM PDT by Emperor Palpatine (Can you afford to board the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?)
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To: topher

Aircraft pilots are almost always conservative, Mr. Silverman.


36 posted on 07/05/2011 10:59:53 AM PDT by The KG9 Kid
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To: Emperor Palpatine

High Flight, with FAA Supplement

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth(1),
And danced(2) the skies on laughter silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed(3) and joined the tumbling mirth(4)
Of sun-split clouds(5) and done a hundred things(6)
You have not dreamed of — Wheeled and soared and swung(7)
High in the sunlit silence(8). Hov’ring there(9)
I’ve chased the shouting wind(10) along and flung(11)
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious(12), burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights(13) with easy grace,
Where never lark, or even eagle(14) flew;
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space(15),
Put out my hand(16), and touched the face of God.

NOTE:

1. Pilots must insure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely before aircraft taxi or flight is attempted.
2. During periods of severe sky dancing, crew and passengers must keep seatbelts fastened. Crew should wear shoulderbelts as provided.
3. Sunward climbs must not exceed the maximum permitted aircraft ceiling.
4. Passenger aircraft are prohibited from joining the tumbling mirth.
5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds under VFR conditions must comply with all applicable minimum clearances.
6. Do not perform these hundred things in front of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.
7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging will not be attempted except in aircraft rated for such activities and within utility class weight limits.
8. Be advised that sunlit silence will occur only when a major engine malfunction has occurred.
9. “Hov’ring there” will constitute a highly reliable signal that a flight emergency is imminent.
10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local FSS. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported by pilots.
11. Pilots flinging eager craft through footless halls of air are reminded that they alone are responsible for maintaining separation from other eager craft.
12. Should any crewmember or passenger experience delirium while in the burning blue, submit an irregularity report upon flight termination.
13. Windswept heights will be topped by a minimum of 1,000 feet to maintain VFR minimum separations.
14. Aircraft engine ingestion of, or impact with, larks or eagles should be reported to the FAA and the appropriate aircraft maintenance facility.
15. Aircraft operating in the high untresspassed sanctity of space must remain in IFR flight regardless of meteorological conditions and visibility.
16. Pilots and passengers are reminded that opening doors or windows in order to touch the face of God may result in loss of cabin pressure.


37 posted on 07/05/2011 11:03:47 AM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: topher

Their Co-Pilot must have objected ;)


38 posted on 07/05/2011 11:05:57 AM PDT by cableguymn
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To: topher

that a lot of the pilots are afraid to fly our banners

The only "fear" involved is the "fear of God" ... which is the "beginning of wisdom".


39 posted on 07/05/2011 11:06:03 AM PDT by so_real ( "The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.")
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To: ZULU
These people are Statists - they believe that a MINUSCULE minority of people - Atheists - have the right to impose THEIR worldview on the MAJORITY of believers.

I don't see in this where they tried to get the government to force the pilots to fly the banners.

40 posted on 07/05/2011 11:10:18 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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