Obama administration and REPUBLICAN lawmakers backs prayer at local government meetings

[Ichingcarpenter]

Obama administration and REPUBLICAN lawmakers backs prayer at local government meetings


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and congressional Republicans have found something to agree on: Town councils should be allowed to open their meetings with a Christian prayer.

Lawyers for the administration and two groups of lawmakers from the House and Senate, nearly all Republicans, separately made that argument in briefs to the Supreme Court this week. The high court should relax the constitutional limits on religious invocations at government meetings, they argued.

The case could lead to a major change in the law on religion that would go well beyond prayers at council meetings.

Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the town of Greece, N.Y., near Rochester, had crossed the line and violated the 1st Amendment's ban on an "establishment of religion." For years, the town supervisor had invited a local minister to deliver an opening prayer at the council's monthly meeting. Members of the audience were encouraged to join in the prayers.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-prayer-20130809,0,6470966.story

Good thing He asked Democrats what they thought of this stupid shit.

[msongs]

1. more hope and change for the right winger bible thumping crowd nt

[liberal_at_heart]

2. and more compromise brought to you by Obama and fellow democrats.

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. House republicans not democrats

it read.

[liberal_at_heart]

5. Are Obama and his administration not democrat?

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. LOL..got me

yeah, I forget sometimes who
who and what's what these days sometimes its hard to tell whose side is they are on, though I think for the most time its their side.

[mick063]

3. Another step closer to witch burning.

I'm not kidding.

This is segregation. This is apartheid.

Once groups of people are required to observe these invocations against their outspoken will, they will be recognized as "different" on a government level.

[Catherina]

7. "State Department Launches Office Of Faith-Based Community Initiatives"

Secretary Kerry Delivers Remarks at the Launch of the Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives

Published on Aug 7, 2013
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the launch of the Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC on August 7, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/08/212781.htm

State Department Launches Office Of Faith-Based Community Initiatives

Posted: 08/08/2013 9:29 am EDT

Secretary of State John Kerry introduced the first Special Advisor of the new Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives, Shaun Casey, at the State Department on Wednesday. The creation of this office indicates the State Department's interest in religious engagement, which began in earnest during Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State.

According to a notice by State Department:

"The new office will set Department policy on engagement with faith-based communities and will work in conjunction with bureaus and posts to reach out to those communities to advance the Department’s diplomacy and development objectives. It will also work closely with faith communities to ensure that their voices are heard in the foreign policy process, including through continued collaboration with the Department's religion and foreign policy working group. The office will collaborate regularly with other government officials and offices focused on religious issues, including the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and the Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom."

Casey served as a Senior Advisor for Religious Affairs and as National Evangelical Coordinator during President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, and has been serving as a special adviser to the Secretary of State for faith-based community initiatives on July 15, according to Wesley Theological Seminary, where he usually teaches as a professor of Christian ethics.

Melissa Rogers, the Director of the White House Faith-Based Office of Neighborhood Partnerships, explained the three primary goals of the office during Casey's introduction, which will be pursued through engagement with religious communities. First, to promote sustainable development and a more effective humanitarian response, second, to advance pluralism and human rights, including the protection of religious freedom, and third, to enhance global and local security.

...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/08/state-department-office-faith-based-community-initiatives-_n_3720655.html

[PowerToThePeople]

8. Why only Christian?

[hrmjustin]

9. This is a horrible idea!

[Enrique]

10. and once again, he gets nothing for it

the GOP obstructs everything, and Obama just gives them stuff for free.