Today is Veteran’s Day. In 1919 President Wilson proclaimed that November 11th of every year would become Armistice Day. It wasn’t until 1938 that the holiday would become a legally recognized holiday from an act that was passed by Congress of that year to include the observances of honor for American veterans of all wars and not just that of World War I and thereby renaming the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

Now, I do not support the Bush Administration’s war agenda in any way but I do support and honor those who are in our military. I may not agree on the issues that caused so many of our citizens to be overseas nor to be in a global war on terror but what I agree with and do not agree with does change the facts or the reality of the situation that our soldiers are living with on a day-to-day basis.

The soldiers out there in field right now, may not be cut of the same cloth as those that have gone before them because they are not fighting for what those who have gone before them have fought for but they are our fellow country men and women. They are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends. They have pledged their lives for this time period to being soldiers, to being the warriors out there in world in a situation that they did not have a choice in.

Together, we can bring the rest of our troops home and save the lives of innocent civilians in their homelands as well as our own people by ending the Bush Administration’s Wars and ensuring that no more wars are created.

Learn more, hear more and understand more at Iraq Veterans Against the War.

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The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a claim last week to sue President Bush and The National Day of Prayer Task Force ran by Focus on the Family. The issue is over the First Amendment and the Federal Government.

The Foundation charges that the government “aligns and partners” with the NDP Task Force as the official organizer of the National Day of Prayer. The NDP Task Force identifies itself online as “The National Day of Prayer ‘Official Website.’ ” The task force has close ties to Focus on the Family. Its chair person, Shirley Dobson, is married to Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, and the task force is located in the Focus on the Family headquarters. Read full release on their site here and you can read the actual legal claim here in pdf.

Back at the end of April and beginning of May I wrote about this same subject here and even a letter to my local paper(which can be read here). The Nevada Appeal had reprinted the National Day of Prayer Task Force false information and though they were aware of the issue, they never printed a correction. I had even pointed out that the declaration as created by the task force had been signed by Governor Gibbons months before President Bush even signed his declaration. My efforts to educate with the correct information were both attacked in some instances or ignored all together but at least I tried.

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When I first heard about what Code Pink was doing I thought they were kidding around to get attention. I thought that no group would be that stupid or callous when it came to their media grabbing efforts. Apparently, I was very wrong.

What Code Pink has done is absolutely inexcusable. They used in a costumed stereotypical fashion the Pagan movement to further their political stance and without regard to the actual Pagan movement at all and they did it on Fox news, which really just adds more insult to the injury that these people have caused to a religious movement that has consistently had to fight an uphill battle just to be allowed to practice their faiths in peace.

If you’d like to see the Fox News video, please visit Jason’s blog The Wild Hunt

Technorati Tags: code pink, laura jean karr, paganism

As I have often wondered what laws were being changed on a religious climate, this evening I decided to check out what was currently before Congress. The following is what I found.

H.R. 3908: Loyalty to Our Legacy Act of 2007
Loyalty to Our Legacy Act of 2007 - Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the national motto “In God We Trust” are each displayed prominently in the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) on a permanent basis. Prohibits the AOC, in preparing and producing any exhibit or other material relating to the CVC, from removing or refusing to include any language, symbol, writing, document, or record on the grounds that they include a religious reference or Judeo-Christian content. Read full text here. This has been introduced to the House.

H.R. 2104: Public Prayer Protection Act of 2007
To protect the right of elected and appointed officials to express their religious beliefs through public prayer. Denies the Supreme Court and district courts jurisdiction to review any matter related to the alleged establishment of religion involving the expression of public prayer by any federal, state, or local government entity or a government officer or agent acting in an official capacity. Read full text here. This bill has been introduced to the House.

S. 2198: Andrew Larochelle God, Family, and Country Act of 2007
A bill to require the Architect of the Capitol to permit the acknowledgment of God on flag certificates. Read the full text here. This has passed the Senate and is in the House now waiting for a vote.

H.R. 2510
To amend title 31, United States Code, to require the inscription “In God We Trust” to appear on a face of the $1 coins honoring each of the Presidents of the United States.
Read the full text here. This has been introduced in the House.

H.R. 300: We the People Act
We the People Act - Prohibits the Supreme Court and each federal court from adjudicating any claim or relying on judicial decisions involving: (1) state or local laws, regulations, or policies concerning the free exercise or establishment of religion; (2) the right of privacy, including issues of sexual practices, orientation, or reproduction; or (3) the right to marry without regard to sex or sexual orientation where based upon equal protection of the laws. Read the full text here. This has been introduced to the House.

H. Con. Res. 12: Requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in the United States Capitol
States that the Ten Commandments are a declaration of the fundamental principles that are the cornerstone of a fair and just society. Requires a copy of them to be prominently displayed in the U.S. Capitol at such place and in such manner as the Architect of the Capitol shall designate. Read full text here. This has been introduced to the House.

S. Res. 35: A resolution expressing support for prayer at school board meetings
Recognizes that prayer before school board meetings is a protected act and expresses support for such prayer. Read the full text here. This has been introduced to the Senate.

H. J. Res. 13: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to school prayer
Read the full text here.

H.R. 2275: To restore the Free Speech and First Amendment rights of churches and exempt organizations by repealing the 1954 Johnson Amendment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the prohibition against churches and other tax-exempt organizations participating in political campaigns or supporting or opposing candidates for public office. Provides that this repeal shall not invalidate or limit any provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Read the full text. This has been introduced to the House.

H.R. 1431: Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2007
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify the definition of “religion” for purposes of coverage under that Act by requiring employers to make an affirmative and bona fide effort to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees. Read the full text here. This has been introduced to the House.

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