Happy July 4th.

the second BAT blogswarm is underway. lets hope there is an upswing in contributors that makes this event even more successful than the one at easter.


the line that separates church and state is in place, but has developed a few weak spots that need to be shored up. nothing will be accomplished by erasing this vital line.

it almost makes me wonder what the fundamentalists are really worried about...our standing with jesus, or that jesus is so endangered that we need constant reminders of his existence.


if your community is like mine, you can hardly swing a dead cat without hitting at least one church. they are as common as bars. and yet some people must think their message is getting lost, not realizing that maybe its just being ignored. we aren't as dumb as we look, ya know. we don't need the ten commandments on the walls of our schools and government buildings to inform the community that they exist. and not all people embrace the idea of god, no matter what name is used.


but more to the point, those who would erase the line between church and state have not considered that we are not a theocracy, but a democracy that is here to serve all...republican, democrat, independent, black, white, red, yellow, brown, old, young and in between, straight, gay, literate, illiterate, everybody. of many assorted religious beliefs. including none at all.
we are intelligent enough, all of us, to make religious decisions with little or no help from others.and if we need help, there are a lot of folks out there eager to council us.

but don't take it upon yourself to make that decision for anyone but yourself.

a democracy only really works well when the greatest number of people and do and act as they please, while respecting the rights of others to do the same.

let it do just that.

worry less about the state of our souls, and more about the state of our bodies. pray for more jobs, more health care options for the poor and middle class, pray for the answer to lawlessness and out of control gun use, and then do more. more than pray, actually help seek solutions, then work to get them implemented.

but at all costs, keep religion out of the government. out of our schools. pray in private, but work in public for the betterment of EVERYBODY not just the religious few who support you.



i've said it before, and i'll say it again. i do NOT want to close any churches. i just want the sovereignty of the separation intact and honored.