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| RandySFN Regular
 
  
USA1990 Posts
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|  Posted - 11/18/2011 :  09:36:00       
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           	| http://bigthink.com/ideas/41032 |  
| "We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
 
 "So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
 -Neil DeGrasse Tyson
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| KilEvil Skeptic
 
  
USA13481 Posts
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|  Posted - 11/18/2011 :  10:24:02   [Permalink]             
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| While Penn may be right about Obama, I think Obama should get big points for including atheists and freethinkers as part of what this nation is, and even attacked the idea that this is a Christian nation, or even the concept of this being a one religion nation: 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXcvbnzNIjg
 
 Then there is this:
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFsB1Jk1OQ0&feature=related
 
 So even if he is the most religious, which I doubt, there can be no doubt that he is saying that religion as a basis for policy is not acceptable in a pluralistic nation.
 
 So if he's lying about his belief, and I don't know how anyone would know that, he's still the first president that, he's still the first president that has openly stated that religion has no bearing on policy decisions. Nor should it.
 
 Obama can be infuriating. But I give him high marks for "official" stand on religion.
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| Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
 
 Why not question something for a change?
 
 Genetic Literacy Project
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| chefcrshSkeptic Friend
 
  
Hong Kong380 Posts
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| Posted - 11/18/2011 :  10:48:03   [Permalink]       
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| | he's still the first president that has openly stated that religion has no bearing on policy decisions. | 
 
 Kennedy did so.
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| Edited by - chefcrsh on 11/18/2011  10:48:42 |  
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| KilEvil Skeptic
 
  
USA13481 Posts
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|  Posted - 11/18/2011 :  10:51:30   [Permalink]             
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| Ahh.. Yes. Kennedy had to because he was Catholic. I'm not taking anything away from him, even if that was his motive. You are correct. But again, even he didn't include non believers in a major speech about policy making.| Originally posted by chefcrsh 
 
 | he's still the first president that has openly stated that religion has no bearing on policy decisions. | 
 
 Kennedy did so.
 
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| Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
 
 Why not question something for a change?
 
 Genetic Literacy Project
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| RandySFN Regular
 
  
USA1990 Posts
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| Posted - 11/18/2011 :  11:15:52   [Permalink]       
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| I'm surprised about the claim of Clinton vocalizing more religiously than the other recent presidents. It seems to me though, that the Shrub carried a bigger bull-horn when it came to spewing religion in all directions. |  
| "We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
 
 "So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
 -Neil DeGrasse Tyson
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| Dr. MabuseSeptic Fiend
 
  
Sweden9698 Posts
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| Posted - 11/18/2011 :  14:38:52   [Permalink]         
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| Well, as far as I could tell, his crazy-talk rated higher on the Insane-scale that did Clinton. So if you multiply his insane-statement-score number (and official church-going-number) with the times he did them, I still think Bush scored higher. 
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| Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
 Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
 
 "Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
 
 Support American Troops in Iraq:
 Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
 Collateralmurder.
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| chefcrshSkeptic Friend
 
  
Hong Kong380 Posts
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| Posted - 11/18/2011 :  22:19:25   [Permalink]       
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| I'd like to see the actual reference he notes. Some real data versus I heard it through the NPR grapevine. |  
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| Dave W.Info Junkie
 
  
USA26034 Posts
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|  Posted - 11/19/2011 :  09:34:24   [Permalink]         
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| Seems impossible to track down with only what he said in this video.| Originally posted by chefcrsh 
 I'd like to see the actual reference he notes. Some real data versus I heard it through the NPR grapevine.
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 But, there's this:
 ...Calvin Coolidge seems to have been the first president explicitly to mention Jesus in an official presidential utterance, in a very interesting speech delivered at the unveiling of an equestrian statue of Francis Asbury, our first Methodist bishop. Among Coolidge's successors, Bill Clinton most frequently invoked Jesus' name (43 times), followed closely by Ronald Reagan (39). If Jimmy Carter had served two terms, he would probably have set the bar even higher. Having officially mentioned Jesus eight times in the first eighteen months of his presidency, President Obama is keeping pace with his recent Democratic predecessors and is on track to double George W. Bush's relatively paltry count of 29. |  
| - Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
 Evidently, I rock!
 Why not question something for a change?
 Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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| chefcrshSkeptic Friend
 
  
Hong Kong380 Posts
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|  Posted - 11/19/2011 :  09:48:32   [Permalink]       
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| | Originally posted by Dave W. 
 
 Seems impossible to track down with only what he said in this video.| Originally posted by chefcrsh 
 I'd like to see the actual reference he notes. Some real data versus I heard it through the NPR grapevine.
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 But, there's this:
 ...Calvin Coolidge seems to have been the first president explicitly to mention Jesus in an official presidential utterance, in a very interesting speech delivered at the unveiling of an equestrian statue of Francis Asbury, our first Methodist bishop. Among Coolidge's successors, Bill Clinton most frequently invoked Jesus' name (43 times), followed closely by Ronald Reagan (39). If Jimmy Carter had served two terms, he would probably have set the bar even higher. Having officially mentioned Jesus eight times in the first eighteen months of his presidency, President Obama is keeping pace with his recent Democratic predecessors and is on track to double George W. Bush's relatively paltry count of 29. 
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 Thanks. Yeah I was a bit vexed that there was no reference, he ought to know better when making claims of fact.
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| Dave W.Info Junkie
 
  
USA26034 Posts
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|  Posted - 11/19/2011 :  10:10:18   [Permalink]         
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| As sloppy as it was, it was just a Big Think piece, and not a poli-sci doctoral thesis.| Originally posted by chefcrsh 
 ...he ought to know better when making claims of fact.
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| - Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
 Evidently, I rock!
 Why not question something for a change?
 Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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