As governor, Palin at times bonds church and state
Published Saturday, October 11, 2008
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Stumble It!WASILLA, Alaska -- The camera closes in on Sarah Palin speaking to young missionaries, vowing from the pulpit to do her part to implement God's will from the governor's office.
What she didn't tell worshippers gathered at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown was that her appearance that day came courtesy of Alaskan taxpayers, who picked up the $639.50 tab for her airplane tickets and per diem fees.
An Associated Press review of the Republican vice presidential candidate's record as mayor and governor reveals her use of elected office to promote religious causes, sometimes at taxpayer expense and in ways that blur the line between church and state.
Since she took state office in late 2006, the governor and her family have spent more than $13,000 in taxpayer funds to attend at least 10 religious events and meetings with Christian pastors, including Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical preacher Billy Graham, records show.
Palin was baptized Roman Catholic as a newborn and baptized again in a Pentecostal Assemblies of God church when she was a teenager. She has worshipped at a nondenominational Bible church since 2002, opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest and supports classroom discussions about creationism.
Since she was named as John McCain's running mate, Palin's deep faith and support for traditional moral values have rallied conservative voters who initially appeared reluctant to back his campaign.
On a weekend trip from the capital in June, a minister from the Wasilla Assembly of God blessed Palin and Lt. Gov Sean Parnell before a crowd gathered for the "One Lord Sunday" event at the town's hockey rink. Later in the day, she addressed the budding missionaries at her former church.
"As I'm doing my job, let's strike this deal. Your job is going be to be out there, reaching the people - (the) hurting people - throughout Alaska," she told students graduating from the church's Masters Commission program. "We can work together to make sure God's will be done here."
A spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, Maria Comella, said the state paid for Palin's travel and meals on that trip, and for other meetings with Christian groups, because she and her family were invited in their official capacity as Alaska's first family. Parnell did not charge the state a per diem or ask to be reimbursed for travel expenses that day.
"I understand the per diem policy is, I can claim it if I am away from my residence for 12 hours or more. And Anchorage is where my residence is and I'm based from. And this trip took about four hours of driving time and time at the event, so I did not claim per diem for this one," Parnell told the AP.
Palin and her family billed the state $3,022 for the cost of attending Christian gatherings exclusively, including visits to the Assembly of God here and to the congregation they attend in Juneau, according to expense reports reviewed by the AP.
Experts say those trips fall into an ethically gray area, since Democrats and Republicans alike often visit religious venues for personal and official reasons.
J. Brent Walker, who runs a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for church-state separation, said based on a reporter's account, Palin's June excursion raised questions.
"Politicians are entitled to freely exercise their religion while in office, but ethically if not legally that part of her trip ought to not be charged to taxpayers," said Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. "It's still fundamentally a religious and spiritual experience she is having."
The Palins billed the state an additional $10,094 in expenses for other multi-day trips that included worship services or religiously themed events, but also involved substantial state business, including the governor's inaugural ball and an oil and gas conference in New Orleans.
Palin also submitted $998 in expenses for a June trip to Anchorage that included a bill signing at Congregation Beth Shalom synagogue, the only non-Christian house of worship she has visited since taking office, according to the McCain campaign.
In response to an AP request, Comella provided a list showing that since January 2007 the governor had attended 25 "faith-based events," including funerals and community meetings held at churches. Many did not appear on the governor's schedule or her travel records.
Palin has said publicly her personal opinions don't "bleed on over into policies."
Still, after the AP reported the governor had accepted tainted donations during her 2006 campaign, she announced she would donate the $2,100 to three charities, including an Anchorage nonprofit aimed at "sharing God's love" to dissuade young women from having abortions.
An AP review of her time as mayor, from late 1996 to 2002, also reveals a commingling of church and state.
Records of her mayoral correspondence show that Palin worked arduously to organize a day of prayer at city hall. She said that with local ministers' help, Wasilla - a city of 7,000 an hour's drive north of Anchorage - could become "a light, or a refuge for others in Alaska and America."
"What a blessing that the Lord has already put into place the Christian leaders, even though I know it's all through the grace of God," she wrote in March 2000 to her former pastor. She thanked him for the loan of a video featuring a Kenyan preacher who later would pray for her protection from witchcraft as she sought higher office.
In that same period, she also joined a grass-roots, faith-based movement to stop the local hospital from performing abortions, a fight that ultimately lost before the Alaska Supreme Court.
Palin's former church and other evangelical denominations were instrumental in ousting members of Valley Hospital's board who supported abortion rights - including the governor's mother-in-law, Faye Palin.
Alaska Right to Life Director Karen Lewis, who led the campaign, said Palin wasn't a leader in the movement initially. But by 1997, after she had been elected mayor, Palin joined a hospital board to make sure the abortion ban held while the courts considered whether the ban was legal, Lewis said.
"We kept pro-life people like Sarah on the association board to ensure children of the womb would be protected," Lewis said. "She's made up of this great fiber of high morals and godly character, and yet she's fearless. She's someone you can depend on to carry the water."
In November 2007, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that because the hospital received more than $10 million in public funds it was "quasi-public" and couldn't forbid legal abortions.
Comella said Palin joined the hospital's broader association in the mid-1990s. Records show she was elected to the nonprofit's board in 2000.
Ties among those active at the time still run deep: In November, Palin was a keynote speaker at Lewis' "Proudly Pro-Life Dinner" in Anchorage, and the governor billed taxpayers a $60 per diem fee for her work that day.
Palin also is one of just two governors who channeled federal money to support religious groups through a state agency, Alaska's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Palin has made it a priority to unite faith communities, local nonprofits and government to serve the needy, bringing her high marks - and $500,000 - from the Bush administration.
In fiscal year 2008, Alaska was one of only four states to receive $500,000 in federal grant money from the national initiative.
"The governor has a healthy appreciation for faith-based groups that serve Alaskans in need," said Jay Hein, who until recently directed national faith-based initiatives at the White House. "The grant speaks to their organizational strength, and the dynamism of Alaska's operation."
Several Catholic and Christian charities received funding, including $20,000 for a Fairbanks homeless shelter that views itself as a "stable door of evangelism and Christian service" and $36,000 for a drop-in center at an Anchorage mall that seeks to demonstrate "the unconditional love of Jesus to teenagers."
The state ensures all faith-based groups keep a strict separation between their work in the community and their prayer services to ensure recipients don't feel coerced, said Tara Horton, a special assistant to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Though staffers reached out to nonprofits and religious groups of many faiths, mostly Christian organizations applied for funding, she said.
In June, when Alaska legislators decided to cut $712,000 in state support for the office, Parnell sent lawmakers an urgent letter asking them to put it back in the budget. A small portion of state funding was later restored.
"Gov. Palin is motivated by the needs out there, and faith-based and community initiatives are a great way to do that," Parnell said. "It matters not to state government what religion people belong to, so long as they are serving the public and the money they receive is used appropriately."
Still, a state worker who directs an Anchorage-based group that advocates for church-state separation, Lloyd Eggan, said Palin's administration hasn't done enough to assure voters that government money doesn't support ministry.
"That sort of thing is exactly what courts have said is barred by the First Amendment," Eggan said.
Community Discussion
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Thank God....The Governor represents the vast majority of her votors and I hope she never changes.
This is the weakest crap yet! I guess she should have carried on like Murkowski, bilking us out of millions, jetting around the world, feathering her nest with our money. Then the news-minus would love her!
Go Sarah!
Has the governor turned away athiets, agnostics, or members of other religions? Is Gov Palin the governor of all Alaska, which includes, but not limited to, Christian or Jewish congregations? Has the governor attempted to enact laws in accordance with her Christian views? How come all of the writer's "experts" are affiliated with extreme definitions of seperation of church and state? Finally, why do I punish myself by continuing to read these poisen pen AP articles?
great article, full of all sorts of information. this is how i wish for my elected leaders to behave. this helps endear me to our governor even more.
Wait... First of All isn't the Capital of Alaska Juneau? Then why can she claim Anchorage as her work place? Most states require the Governor to reside where the seat of Government is located. And if they don't, it's on THEM, NOT the People to pay.
And now, she's using Per Diem and Gov't purchased tickets to go to Church! Does she NOT understand she's NOT QUEEN of Alaska, but the Governor.
This woman NEEDS to be impeached for Gross Ethics violations, not to mention corruption.
Why are we paying for this? Especially her family to tag along? Next session, I am going to hound our legislators to enact some sort of clearer guidlelines about travel reimbursement. Parnell is to be congratulated for his conduct.
If she is so into her faith, Doesn't she know that a lie is a sin????
draconian---
You need to unclench. You're wound too tight.
In most other states you can drive to the capital, without crossing into a foreign country. Or if you do fly, you're not flying into the side of a mountain.
Most people in Alaska are aware of this.
Why Marlo, I didn't know that you were a religious man. Every day is full of surprises.
By the way, you do know that I'm not the same one that you criticized earlier on the "Alaska Inquiry..." thread. Dont you?
We voted to move the capitol to Willow in 1980, we were told that when the money was there it would be moved, 28 years later with billions of dollars to do so ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
God really has blessed her. Her abundance of wealth proves that she is most favored. God is
great. Charity began with the Christian church and the Christian church does it the best. Jesus
must be really proud of her. Except when she didn't have faith that he would take care of the
the situation that resulted in 'troopergate'. Liberal media. He'll take care of it, she just has to have
faith. Jesus knows everything, if Jesus had wanted that fella fired he would have done it himself. It is hard
to always have faith and I understand how we lose it sometimes. George Bush lost his faith when he
invaded Iraq, God has a plan and we small people are foolish to try and interpret his plan. I think she misread God's intention for this winter when she generously gave us 1200US$. That was probably a mistake. But, again, faith isn't as easy as some liberals make it seem to be. I plan on praying for her. I hope she can be there for her other children. I know she 'dropped the ball' with the eldest two. But there are two or three more that need the attention that precludes the need for sensual gratification and casual violence as a release. God tests us all and it is probably his fault that Bristol was made pregnant before marriage. Not fault, I didn't mean that, God has a glorious plan. The end is near. Don't believe it. Read your bible. When Jesus preached he said the end was near. He said that it would happen within his generation. And as far as I can tell that is the only thing he has been wrong on. When you are THE ONE numbers don't matter. They didn't have school back then with home economics where liberals teach kids to make satanic cakes and balance checkbooks. So Jesus is about 4000 generations off, but that's his only mistake. Also I don't think he was serious when he said that bit about the 'eye of the needle'. If he had been Joel Osteen wouldn't have written that book about success. Again we just have to have faith the Jesus knows what he is doing. Sarah Palin is the best.
Great, so now we are paying Palin to go to church? Paying her to fly somewhere to go to church? Outrageous!
This woman shows over and over that she really has no sense of propriety. She just takes and takes and takes...
I guess we now know what she was doing when our legislature was wearing those "Where's Palin" pins that I heard about.
As I read the comments in here from folks such as glacierles, polarmark, and especially bigchinasean as well as some of the others of their ilk I can see why our founding fathers felt there was a distinct need for a separation of church and state. Some of the most vile and widespread murderous actions have been taken against millions of people in the name of religion during history...the Inquisition, the Spanish conquest of the Americas, for a couple examples. Even Hitler called upon and received ample justification from the Catholic church in his pograms against the Jews. And now we see this hypocritical fraud of a person, Palin, being touted as a fine mix of church and state.
You might want to look into her campaign for the position of mayor of Wasilla. Her main opponent, Stein, was Lutheran. Yet, Palin in describing him during her campaign said he was Jewish as though that was some sort of tag of dishonor. She belongs to a church that believes in witchcraft, creationism, and I hate to think what other sorts of idiocy. And while she calls upon her god often and loudly in a fine public example of her supposed piety, she has no problem attacking those not agreeing with her with an unholy vehemence that goes from the verbal to the misuse of her gubernatorial powers.
She is as false as her hairpiece. And the only good thing that is coming out of her elevation to v.p. candidate on the McCain ticket is how again and again she is dragging him down in the public's view. She is a laughingstock on all the talk shows. She is purposefully being kept from interviews because she demonstrates amply how little she knows and how poorly she expresses that incompetence. Mainly, she is being used as McCain's yappy dog on a leash because, like George Bush whom she is coming to remind people of as they listen to her, she is good only for the dirty work. And now that McCain has seen how ugly that can turn even he is pulling her dog collar tight and hauling her in.
Palin is failin' and she's taking John McCain down the tubes with her. That is her only real gift to America. "I can see Russia from my porch!" "Honestly, I don't know what the vice president does!" "I read all the newspapers...I just can't name one!"
George Bush in stripper boots....that's Sarah Palin. (And btw, that observation about her stiletto heel knee-high boots was made on national tv; I wish I could claim credit for it but it was someone else and you should have heard the audience howl with derision for the accompanying photo showed her wearing precisely that footwear as she got off a plane.)
What people don't get is that most atheist live life by the rules set forth in the bible more so than the believers. It is a guide to social, responsible living, not religion to them. All my atheist freinds could care less if others beleive or not but are tired of those who follow no rules and end up costing the taxpayers billions of dollars for their lifestyle. They are even more tired of those who promote irresponsible behavior and feed off of it. (thus they are true conservatives.) Obama and most other politicians should start preaching responsibility and stop buying votes with taxpayers money! Laughable that anybody would even bring up such a thing when you look around at what others have been doing. Vote Palin. Vote for responsible people, and that isn't Obama "The Con Man".
I think the rest of the leaders should start praying. Because once the rest of the people wake up they are not going to have a leg to stand on. Now is the time for a mass march on Washington and for the people of this country to take our country back.
Go SARAH!!!
bigchinasean - "They didn't have school back then with home economics where liberals teach kids to make satanic cakes and balance checkbooks."
First of all, what the hell IS a satanic cake, and in what schools do liberals teach kids to make them?! I've worked at quite a few schools, and haven't seen any satanic cake baking going on, but I'll keep my eye out from now on. Where do you people get this stuff?! Do you have any idea how whacked-out statements like that send your credibility right out the window? (The satanic window, that is.) Jesus, protect me from your followers!!!!
Could everybody who works in the schools please keep their eyes out for "liberals teaching kids to make satanic cakes" so we can send Palin's Reverend Muthee in to exorcise them ASAP! He'll get them satanic cakes out of our schools, like he got that witch out of the village in Kenya, along with her "demon" snake.
The only thing I can think of that could possibly be construed as a satanic cake would be a "Devil's Food" cake, but I don't really think the name should be taken literally, ya know? But if you're uncomfortable with it, maybe Muthee can convert them all into baking angel food cakes instead.
And since when is being taught to balance a checkbook a liberal/satanic thing?! Don't conservatives teach that too? Oh wait! It's becoming clear to me now... Judging by the economic mess we're in, and how conservatives have us ten trillion dollars in debt, maybe they DO consider balancing a checkbook a liberal/satanic act!
Dobieman wrote …
“As I read the comments in here from folks such as glacierles, polarmark, and especially bigchinasean as well as some of the others of their ilk I can see why our founding fathers felt there was a distinct need for a separation of church and state.”
Dobieman…if the founding fathers felt such a strong need for “separation of church and state,” then why didn’t they put it in the constitution. Or at the very least, why didn’t they make an amendment dealing solely with the issue of church and state. They managed to make an amendment dealing solely with the possession of guns, so it certainly would have been doable.
Furthermore, Jefferson didn’t even mention church and state separation until 15 years after the ratification of the constitution. That’s a long to remain silent on such a vital issue. And out of 39 signers of the constitution, he was the only one to every publically discuss the concept. And even then, it wasn’t at a gathering with other legislators it was in a private correspondence with a church group.
Yep, church and state separation was such an important issue to the people and leadership of America that it was publically debated a staggering two (2) times in the first 160 years of our great nation; By Jefferson in the early 19th century and the Supreme Court in 1878.
MikeDanger - The FIRST Amendment says clearly, "Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" So, if they're forbidden to establish religion, and from prohibiting the free exercise thereof; where do you get the idea that they "established" us as a Christian nation? Why would they violate the Constitution as it was being written?
Dobieman wrote…
“Some of the most vile and widespread murderous actions have been taken against millions of people in the name of religion during history...the Inquisition, the Spanish conquest of the Americas, for a couple examples. Even Hitler called upon and received ample justification from the Catholic church in his pograms against the Jews.”
These kinds of statements are typical anti-Christian liberal/atheist bigotry. The inquisition and the Spanish conquest of the Americas both happened more than 500 years ago. If you’re going to talk about how Christianity is so evil, then please provide some examples that are a little younger than 500 years old. I myself have never participated in any inquisition. And I can’t think of anyone I know that participated in the conquest of the Americas.
Sadly dobieman is correct that countless lives have been lost in the name of religion. However, many more lives have been saved in the name of religion. Countless lives have been positively affected by the works of Christian organizations, churches and missionaries. How many millions of people have been helped by the YMCA, the Salvation Army, Prison Fellowship Ministries or Habitat for Humanity? Thousands upon thousands of Christian missionaries have brought education, healthcare, clean water, food, etc to millions of poor and underserved people around the globe, in addition to bringing them the healing word of god.
Furthermore, an honest look at societies that espouse anti-Christian ideologies will convince you that you really don’t want to live in those societies. Since the founding of communism in Russia and China, more than 100 million people of those two nations have been murdered. The Khmer rouge murdered at least 1 million people. At least 500,000 were killed in Rwanda. Name just one atrocity committed and condoned by Christians in the past 100 years that can compare with those mentioned above.
bigchinasean, are you for real?
Do you really believe Jesus must have been mistaken when He said, "It is easier for a camel to jump through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven," because a wealthy evangelical named Joel Osteen wouldn't have written his book about how to make a bunch of money? Are you pullin our liberal legs?
If your post is real, I suggest therapy, and if it's not, it's a great piece of work for the Steven Colbert Show.
There're laws in regard to separation of church and state.. To prevent exactly what is happening to America with these Religious Idiots interjecting themselves into our lives and bedrooms.In light that these Neo Con Religious Idiots, led by King Pinocchio(Pathological Liar and Pathological Failure) and Shotgun Cheney(Shotgunned his buddy while intoxicated), have us mired down in Iraq because... "God Told him To Invade Iraq", I'd say these modern day Neo Con Religious Idiots are a couple bubbles off plumb.
Together, the Neo Con Parasites infesting the Executive Branch and the equally Corrupt, Conflict of Interest and Collusion challenged Congress are in COLLUSION with the Neo Con owned Conglomerates to prostitute their votes to pass laws, regulations and deregulations, to financially benefit their Corporate Pimps and themselves as well as the rich and super rich.
They're yanking hundreds of billions of American Taxpayer dollars away from programs that benefit the vast majority of Americans and instead are giving themselves and their Corporate Pimps the same monies. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!
Yep these Religious Idiots are helping to take monies away from social programs that benefit the poor, weak, sick and infirm to give to their rich benefactors.. Beating their chests and praying to a bas--rdized version of Christianity they're trying to shove down our throats.. Idiots!!
Doris,
Nothing in my comment suggested that this country was founded as a Christian nation. Where’d you get that from? I’m not even going to respond to your question because it has nothing to do with my original comment. The point I was making, was that the founding fathers didn’t care about church/state separation, and especially not in the way the concept is viewed today. That’s all I was trying to say. Anything else you took away from my comment is due to poor reading comprehension on you part.
I don't care what some of you say, she does not represent the views of all Alaskans. As a woman I have rights over my body and no other person can force me to do their will. Heck we might as well have the churches telling us how to dress (oh they already do), what to eat and drink (oh they do this too), and how to think (wow 3 for 3). Keep the church views in the church and let people have the right to think!!!!
This AP article is (as usual) a blatant twisting of the facts to make Palin look like she has done something wrong.
"Palin and her family billed the state $3,022 for the cost of attending Christian gatherings exclusively, including visits to the Assembly of God here and to the congregation they attend in Juneau, according to expense reports reviewed by the AP."
xxxxx
Palin's expenses to fly back and forth between the capitol in Juneau and her home in Wasilla (near Anchorage) are legitimate State expenses, just as they are for all of our State Legislators. The fact that she attends a religious gathering in either town while she is there is irrelevant. That is not the source of the expense.
xxxxx
"Parnell did not charge the state a per diem or ask to be reimbursed for travel expenses that day.
'I understand the per diem policy is, I can claim it if I am away from my residence for 12 hours or more. And Anchorage is where my residence is and I'm based from. And this trip took about four hours of driving time and time at the event, so I did not claim per diem for this one,' Parnell told the AP."
xxxxx
Assuming (the article is not clearly written) that this quote is truly from "Parnell" (who is not identified in the article), he shows that he does not fully understand the laws regarding per diem. It is not the "residence" that is the determining factor in Palin's case, but rather the location of her work location, which is her office in Wasilla. (That, by the way, costs taxpayers much less than if she were to live in Juneau, which she does only when the Legislature is in session.)
The writer's implication that Palin's anti-abortion activities constitute inappropriate "bonding" of church and state is ludicrous.
There are many people who are not at all religious who still have enough basic commen sense and integrity to realize that killing an innocent baby in the mother's womb is one of the most hideous forms of murder.
xxxxx
"Palin also is one of just two governors who channeled federal money to support religious groups through a state agency, Alaska's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Palin has made it a priority to unite faith communities, local nonprofits and government to serve the needy, bringing her high marks - and $500,000 - from the Bush administration."
xxxxx
Hello, Mr. Garance Burke! If you were worth your salt as a reporter, you would have done enough research to realize that the Faith-based assistance program is a relatively new program, and there may have only BEEN two Alaskan governors since its inception. The program was instituted by President Bush, who recognizes that these groups do a much better job of reaching people in need than government agencies do.
xxxxx
"In fiscal year 2008, Alaska was one of only four states to receive $500,000 in federal grant money from the national initiative."
xxxxx
Satrah Palin is to be applauded for taking advantage of this program to provide grants to faith-based community service agencies. People are constantly complaining about the homeless, the addicted, the teens who lack something to do, and a plethora of other social ills. Sarah has put forth the effort to find help for the people who are actually DOING something about it!
ROFL... I *think* bigchinasean is being sarcastic. I hope so. Either way, what s/he wrote is hilarious.
Les,
Don't believe that was me!
What is the Alaska Inquiry?
Mike, you said the issue of separation between church and state was never discussed in the beginning, yet they made it clear in the very First Amendment. Sorry if I misunderstood the point you were trying to make, but if it church and state wasn't an issue from the beginning, why does the First Amendment state it in such an emphatic way?
And for the record, I'm not anti-Christian. Some of my best friends are Christian, including my wonderful mom. What I am, is anti-extremist-Christians running our nation with religious rules when we were founded on freedom from being run by religion.
Mike - "Name just one atrocity committed and condoned by Christians in the past 100 years that can compare with those mentioned above."
I can't pass this one up. How about the slaughter of three million Vietnamese people, the nine-year, constant bombing of Laos, and the slaughter of over a million innocent Iraqi people, just for starters? Both the Vietnam and Iraq invasions were based on lies, and both were sanctioned and defended by millions of American Christians. Zealots like John Hagee and Pat Robertson both condone the slaughter of Muslims as "God's work." Hagee stated that Hitler was sent by God to get the Jews out of Europe so they would be forced back to Israel so the end-times could get underway.
I agree that Christian people have done some good work, but to deny their fundamentalist hand in America's slaughter of innocents is just plain wrong. Palin herself believes the corporate slaughter of Muslims in Iraq is "God's plan." Look at some of the websites that show the torn-up bodies of children and tell me that God would plan anything so atrocious. http://www.robert-fisk.com/ Here's one to start with. WARNING! What we've done over there is a major atrocity and really, really ugly for the people who'd like to face it. "God's plan" my a**! Jesus would NEVER do this to one child, much less thousands of them, but fundamentalist Christians all over the nation support Bush in his "divine mission" to blow up Muslim babies and children. The sick irony is that most of them claim to be PRO-LIFE!!!!
I'm not angry at you. I work with children and have loved them since I was one myself, and seeing what we do in the name of God and oil makes me sick to my stomach as well as angry as hell. We're supposed to be the beacon of light in the world, but our lust for money and power have turned off the switch. Christians have adjusted their eyes to the darkness and don't even realize the switch was thrown.
pawprint - We can only hope and pray bigchinasean is being sarcastic! It's difficult to tell with some of the whacked-out views presented.
Ever play the kid's game where you start a story and then whisper it to the person next to you? Then, after going through many's ears, the last person tells what they heard. It's comical how the story is distorted. As an agnostic, I believe the Bible was laid to paper by persons who wrote what they thought they heard. Since it was written in ancient language, it has been translated many times and we all know how literal translation can get even more messed up. It was written when man was in his most ignorant of times. Used as a guideline to live a "moral" life doesn't require one to follow any organization's strict interpretation. I think, therefore I am, to coin a good phrase.
did't even read the article. when is this paper going to stop trying to stop Governor Palin's bid for the Vp spot? the dnm needs to back off,
mikedanger-
So is a hundred years like the time limit on how long something can be considered an atrocity? is that God's rule or yours?
How long will it be before we can't call all the innocent suvillians murdered in Iraq because of dubyas Jihad with "terror", an atrocity? just curious because I'm sure there are many people out there who would like a clean conscience and a set time when we could consider murder to be trivial would be great, thanks.
Marlo---
"Alaska Inquiry finds Palin Abused Power" was the full title of the article.
It's just another article that contained a couple of your posts. At the time, I put your comments to either to mistaken identity (probably on my part), or too much tequila on your corn flakes.
Another lame story, the A.P. needs a gift from William Ayers.
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