Religion and Politics

[Niquie]

Explain your smart ass remark. Now, please.

[dj_who_kid]

I think everyone is talking about USA or using it as an example. This may be the wrong route to take because USA was built on the premise of religious freedom and the "melting pot" idea. Other countries were never established with such ideas.

For example, Iran, has only one official religion which obviously also influences its politics. I think it is a perfect example of the problem of church/state and the need for seperation.

[Niquie]

DJ, I agree with you. And I can think of no scarier form of government than a theocracy.

UPSLIDER? I need you to explain your statement, or are you a "hit and run" member? If so, I need to know this about you.

[_DigitaLVampirE_]

Originally posted by upSlider

---Pope Urban II, Proclamation at Clermont, 1095 – “From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth and very frequently has been brought to our ears: namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God, a generation, forsooth, which has neither directed its heart nor entrusted its spirit to God, has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by sword, pillage, and fire. . . .”

---Karen Armstrong, Holy War, 1988 – “The Crusades, like so much of the modern conflict, were not wholly rational movements that could be explained away by purely economic or territorial ambition or by the clash of rights and interests. They were fueled, on all sides, by myths and passions that were far more effective in getting people to act than any purely political motivation. The medieval holy wars in the Middle East could not be solved by rational treatises or neat territorial solutions. Fundamental passions were involved which touched the identity of Christians, Muslims and Jews and which were sacred to the identity of each. They have not changed very much in the holy wars of today.”
I wonder if you actually read any of Karen Armstrong's works or even know her background?

I never liked it when politics and religion mix and have always been struggling to understand fanatics hurting or even killing in the name of their religion.
President Bush's religious rhetoric makes not only makes Americans feel uneasy,
but the entire world as well.

At least I don't seem to be alone, other people seem to have similar concerns.
But of course, you don't have to take my word for it - since i'm such a nasty Moderator.

[Niquie]

I said I could go on and on and on... (from http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/20...index_np.html)

An open invitation to election fraud
Not only is the country's leading touch-screen voting system so badly designed that votes can be easily changed, but its manufacturer is run by a die-hard GOP donor who vowed to deliver his state for Bush next year.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Farhad Manjoo



Sept. 23, 2003 | As if the public image of punch-card voting machines had not already been bruised and battered enough, on Sept. 15, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals went for the K.O. Punch-card voting, a three-judge panel of the court said in its ruling halting the California gubernatorial recall election, is an embarrassment to our high-tech times: "Just as the black and white fava bean voting system of revolutionary times was replaced by paper balloting, and the paper ballot replaced by mechanical lever machine, newer technologies have emerged to replace the punch-card, including optical scanning and touch screen voting."

But according to Bev Harris, a writer who has spent more than a year investigating the shadowy world of the elections equipment industry, the replacement technologies the court cited may be worse -- much worse -- than the zany punch-card systems it finds so abhorrent. Specifically, Harris' research into Diebold, one of the largest providers of the new touch-screen systems, ought to give elections officials pause about mandating an all-electronic vote.

Harris has found critical flaws in Diebold's voting software, and she's uncovered internal Diebold memos in which employees seem to suggest that the vulnerabilities are no big deal. The memos appear to be authentic -- Diebold even sent Harris a notice warning her that by posting the documents on the Web, she was infringing upon the company's intellectual property. Diebold did not return several calls for comment.

The problems Harris found in Diebold's system are perhaps the best proof yet that electronic voting systems aren't ready for prime time. Indeed, the vulnerabilities in the software, as well as the internal memos, raise questions about the legitimacy of the California recall election. In its ruling, the 9th Circuit Court put the election on hold until the six counties that currently use punch-card systems -- six counties that comprise 44 percent of the state's voters -- upgrade their systems. On Monday, 11 judges on the 9th Circuit reheard the recall case; they may very well overturn the decision halting the Oct. 7 election. If the recall vote is put on hold until March, however, many may wonder whether to trust the results: Four of the six punch-card counties -- including the largest, Los Angeles and San Diego -- have plans to upgrade to Diebold machines by March

[Marcelle]

[quote]Originally posted by _DigitaLVampirE_

President Bush's religious rhetoric makes not only makes Americans feel uneasy,
but the entire world as well.

{{{yawn}}}

[quote]Originally posted by Niquie
And this "9-11" thing you speak of...you think THAT justifies this Administration and it's insistence on going to war for private profit?

Assuming Iraqi oil is the means of the profit...
Do you have any idea what the oil production rate in Iraq is/has been?
What the condition of the Iraqi oil fields are?
How long it would take for Iraqi oil to compensate the US in its billions spent on this war/invasion?

The whole... who is allowed to, or forced to marry who, is a can of worms that is better left unopened. It bothers me not that homosexuals wish to marry. If allowed, though brothers and sisters pets and owners will be in line next. With this being the land of the free and all...

If Kerry wins it will be our turn to yell fowl.

[quote]Originally posted by dj_who_kid

Ok. Fine. Why then, can't I ask why being white makes me inelligible to receive some federal funds. Why can't I ask why "people of color" can get preferential treatment when it concerns their applications to FEDERALLY FUNDED institutions? I thought America was supposed to be color blind?

I hear ya. I am white.
I was forced to apply for assistance (medical coverage under the disabled childrens act) because my child was diagnosed with a disease that requires life long (expensive) medication/treatment. When I presented as a clean, educated white woman I was treated like a cow on the way to slaughter. When I presented as a less educated Spanish speaking woman I was given the royal treatment. Similar happened again just 6 years ago. It is not my imagination. Color of skin, education, et al should not matter when a person needs assistance. We live in a flawed society, unfortunately.

That statement bothers me because I don't need any outsiders to help me raise my seed. This includes government interference.

I agree. And I do not trust 'outsiders' these days with my kids. A village seems to me to represent a much more intimate group of people than 'outsiders' though. If family and friends cannot help me, when needed, then I stay home with my kiddos, plain and simple. Our kids get unsupervised internet access at our local libraries and condoms handed out freely at our high schools. America the Beautiful!!

Andrew,
I am having a problem finding a Biblical scripture. Can I email you?
Danke~ciao

[aymanfawzy1970]

hi dears...i really likw this thread very much...first i need you know something...in all over he human history...religion was the main engine of this history ...this is real
everyone of us has one source for his manners ..his habits and tradditions ...it's his religion...you may say but politics has no manners at all !
i say no you are wrong because the ( no manners)! itslef is a somekind of manner!
but i see htere is a kind of manners in politics ...you follow up a religion? then i have to read your book befor any kind of treatment between me and you even if you are ethiest ! then what's going on this world? is there any relationship between it and religion? yes dear friends...when i read the bible and going behind the words i see it clear ...god told us about what's going on this world now adays ...and there is more...god told us about what will happened to this world on the next years this's clear my friends...read the history agine and dive in this deep ocean of great events ware and peace ...the great nations why they became great and why they became a good or a bad history ...the frenchmen say cherche la femme and i say cherche la ( religion)