Woefully Ignorant State Legislative Proposals

[Kevin]

To be fair, no one actually tries to enforce those laws. That said, a proposal to get rid of those laws died in committee this year.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Kevin

To be fair, no one actually tries to enforce those laws. That said, a proposal to get rid of those laws died in committee this year.

I would like to be optimistic and say that they realized that their time was best served elsewhere, and not on worrying about trivial laws, however, that "time better spent" was probably golfing or other nonsense.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I would like to be optimistic and say that they realized that their time was best served elsewhere, and not on worrying about trivial laws, however, that "time better spent" was probably golfing or other nonsense.

No, the issue was that they were afraid of challenges from the right stating that they had voted to further this mythical separation between church and state which the founders never intended to exist.

You know how every once in a while, you'll hear about some courthouse in the South erecting a monument to the 10 Commandments on their courthouse lawn?

Well, I had a case in Marshall County, Oklahoma (just about half an hour east of I-35 from near the Oklahoma-Texas border). I snapped a photograph of just such a monument on the courthouse lawn. It's apparently been there for some time and either no one in the county wants to challenge it or folks are afraid of what would happen to them if they did.

[AlphaFrog]

I'm a conservative Christian, and these are the kind of people that make me ashamed to admit that. *Sigh*

[adpiucf]

Do well in school, little Timmy, or the government will force you and your family to starve in the cold. Well done, Tennessee. This proposed bill would deduct government assistance from needy families if their kids do poorly in school.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Well, I had a case in Marshall County, Oklahoma (just about half an hour east of I-35 from near the Oklahoma-Texas border). I snapped a photograph of just such a monument on the courthouse lawn. It's apparently been there for some time and either no one in the county wants to challenge it or folks are afraid of what would happen to them if they did.

You mean the one at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstephe...57623081962152
?

Note, actually stating what the laws are in that manner indicates what Religion or branch of Religion generally created it. For example if "Steal" is #8 and "no other gods" is #1 then you are looking at "Hellenistic Jews, Greek Orthodox and Protestants except Lutherans". The Jews combine the "No other gods" into #2 and have #1 as "I am the Lord your God". The Protestants and Lutherans shift everything by combining the Protestant #1 & #2 into #1 and splitting Coveting into #9 Wife vs. #10 House. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_commandments)

Given that this is in Oklahoma, it makes sense that the Catholics, Lutherans and Jews weren't involved in putting it up.

See http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/6...html?site=full for the story of why it was erected in 2001.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by naraht

You mean the one at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstephe...57623081962152
?

Yes, that exact one. I had a trial out there last Summer and had noticed the thing the first time I was there. I truly tried to be as inconspicuous as possible while snapping a photo of that curiosity. Wouldn't want the locals to think a lawyer from "The City" was cooking anything up. It's a long way back to the highway and I wouldn't want anything to happen to me. It's pretty backwards out there.

Not too far away in Kingston, OK, my grandfather was killed in a bar fight. The Marshall County sheriff tried to pass it off as a natural death despite the cause of death very obviously being blunt force trauma--lots of it. They were unsuccessful in maintaining that position though.. my father happened to be an attorney and was able to get a full autopsy done. No one in Marshall County ever investigated the incident and no witnesses ever came out of the woodwork. It's a different sort of place.

Given that this is in Oklahoma, it makes sense that the Catholics, Lutherans and Jews weren't involved in putting it up.

See http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/6...html?site=full for the story of why it was erected in 2001.

It's kind of a given that the onus for that came from a person of the Southern Baptist persuasion. There aren't a lot of English speaking Catholics in that neck of the woods.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by naraht

You mean the one at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstephe...57623081962152
?

Note, actually stating what the laws are in that manner indicates what Religion or branch of Religion generally created it. For example if "Steal" is #8 and "no other gods" is #1 then you are looking at "Hellenistic Jews, Greek Orthodox and Protestants except Lutherans". The Jews combine the "No other gods" into #2 and have #1 as "I am the Lord your God". The Protestants and Lutherans shift everything by combining the Protestant #1 & #2 into #1 and splitting Coveting into #9 Wife vs. #10 House. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_commandments)

Given that this is in Oklahoma, it makes sense that the Catholics, Lutherans and Jews weren't involved in putting it up.

See http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/6...html?site=full for the story of why it was erected in 2001.

Wow! Never realized there were different 10 Commandments. I grew up Protestant (non denominational, though that's an oxymoron) and the one listed is the one I know. You learn something every day.

[Kevin]

OKC has a few liberal enclaves. The RWers here are very dogmatic about their politics. It's very similar to the sort of rigid religious thinking you encounter in folks who can be led to believe the Earth is 6,000 years old and that Jesus Christ and dinosaurs coexisted (and if you can be led to believe that, you can be led to believe anything, right?). They surround themselves with an echo chamber whether they're meeting the OKC Tea Party folks at the H&H Gun Range or whether you're talking about the John Birch Society folks or OCPAC or whatever, when everyone else is talking about how UN Agenda 21 is a real threat to our political sovereignty and our state's rights under the 10th Amendment, a lot of hairbrained stuff might actually begin to sound reasonable.

That said, there are also a lot of reasonable folks out here and some legitimately cool places and plenty to do. Oklahoma has a pretty backwards redneck reputation, which is well deserved, but Oklahoma City and Tulsa are actually pretty decent places full of decent people and the rest of the state is nice to visit if you can simply live with the fact that just about everyone around you really and truly thinks the President is a Kenyan Muslim.

[amIblue?]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand ALEC.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I'm sorry, but I don't understand ALEC.

http://www.alec.org/

ALEC writes a lot of anti-poor/anti-environment/social conservative, etc. sort of model legislation. When you hear about multiple states proposing things like banning abortion after 6 weeks or various sorts of tort reform, those are often bills written by ALEC.

[chi-o_cat]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit this:

North Carolina May Declare Official State Religion Under New Bill

Ever since the last election, things in Raleigh have been getting increasingly painful.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by chi-o_cat

Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit this:

North Carolina May Declare Official State Religion Under New Bill

Ever since the last election, things in Raleigh have been getting increasingly painful.

This wins the thread.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Kevin

This wins the thread.

Though I hear it's doubtful the bill will ever see the light of day. Anyone can file a bill on anything. Getting it through is another matter.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by Kevin

http://www.alec.org/

ALEC writes a lot of anti-poor/anti-environment/social conservative, etc. sort of model legislation. When you hear about multiple states proposing things like banning abortion after 6 weeks or various sorts of tort reform, those are often bills written by ALEC.

Thanks!