Personally, I don’t eat at Chick-fil-A because I can taste the bigotry. Yes, only in this country of plenty, one where most homes average two to four flat-screen TVs, would Americans take up figurative arms, er, wings, over a fried-chicken chain in this latest salvo of the unending culture (read: religion) wars.
Never mind that in Maine, gay marriage was duly legislated by our state Legislature, signed into law by our governor, and then overturned by mob rule, via an anathematic referendum — something the Founding Fathers decidedly aimed to prevent by creating a representative democracy in the first place.
No, I’m looking to Leviticus 18:22, which declares, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” Interestingly, shortly thereafter in Leviticus 26:29, regarding disobedient Israelites, God offers this delicious children nugget, “And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.”
Funny how today's social conservatives cherry pick their holy book to suit their own insular needs, yet now view the Bible’s macabre text as metaphor. As Twain pointed out, times and people change; the blood-drenched text does not.
Recently in Mali, Africa, pious locals forcibly placed adulterers in holes and then stoned them to death, as proscribed by Muhammad’s hadith, Ibn Ishaq (970).
I’m just thankful my parents never read Deuteronomy 21:18-21, where God mandates the stoning of an insubordinate son. (Phew!)
Kris Kucera, Lisbon
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The writer should perhaps be
The writer should perhaps be thankful that his parents were pro-life. Maybe even social conservatives.
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Paul , 12.08.11 19:35 Saturday ≠ HST
Maybe (s)he was adopted and desperately seeking her/his real parents . Never assume . You only make an ass outta' you and me . Presume instead √ h t h <3 & Alo'ha from a Rainbow Warrior's State /s , a writer named Dr. Dosh and his ohana
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/08/10/670171/democratic-party-release... Mainers United for Marriage "We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law." Like & share if you agree -> https://www.facebook.com/#!/MainersUnited <-- :D
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Ahh, more great piggy-bank advise from the lord of demspeak.
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Great observation Mike! Keep in mind when November rolls around that there are folks out there who feel that elections and referendums are only good when they produce results you agree with; if not...then occupy this and occupy that or resort to anarchy, name calling and personal attacks. The attack on Chick-fil-A shows us just how little the constitution means to some folks; when you disagree with them for whatever reason. Representative government only works when those elected actually DO represent those who sent them to Washington D.C. or their state capitals. Some candidates campaign as one thing, and in the rarified air of the beltway or Augusta remove their sheep's clothing. The best way to avoid this is meet the candidates and ask them hard questions and expect clear concise answers, and if you don't like the answers move to the next candidate. Fortunately for us, we get to fix our local mistakes every two years. The results of earlier referendums in our state showed that our previous legislature was utterly out of touch with those who elected them; we became weary of having to resort to referendums, a significant investment of our time and resources, and cleaned them out in 2010; hopefully those sent in 2010 will remember this; if not we still have the ability to vote the rest out in 2012. Let's finish the work we started in 2010, Vote on election day...know your candidate and what they stand for or against.
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I'm really getting tired of mowing my lawn and blowing out my driveway in the winter to say nothing of raking leaves. I can't afford to pay someone to do it and thought that perhaps I could follow Leviticus 25:44 and take a slave - one is all I'd need. Leviticus says the slave must be from a neighboring nation, but Canada is a pretty long drive compared to Jay. Can I regard Jay as a separate nation?
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Tony , 8 pm Saturday hst •
l o l √ Jay who ¿ Do they allow Christian gambling in this Jay ME place ? Sure . Why not . Separate but equal . " Equal rights , equal protections under the law " That's all what we strive for , right everyone ? In fact , we even think Mormons are Christians and we include both Harry Reid ( D - NV ) and Mitt Romney ( R - MA ) in that group Because they are both L D S ( Church of the Latter Day Saints ) . Chew on that . Become informed . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lgbt /s , just another Christian = equality rights = advocate :D
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Hola!
Hola!
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Mark , 19:44 hst Saturday
¿ Quieres decir algo ? /s , a rather fluent Spanish , Portuguese , German , Chuukese ( Micronesian ) and a-little-English speaker ( I know about enough French to get my face slapped :)
The U S A is still the only country in the world where is considered a liability and a handicap to know > 1 language
. .oh , AMESLAN and pig latin , too . h t h ∞
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It is definitely a liability if you cannot speak English in the US. If you reside and work in the US, but cannot speak English, you are relegated to low wage and perhaps slave labor, jobs.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Maybe so, but 75% of the
Maybe so, but 75% of the world are busting their asses to learn English.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.If you don't like Maine's referendum structure ...
... work to overturn it - perhaps by referendum? How ironic. When it works against one's agenda, the referendum is an affront to our republic; when it works for, it's the last defense against tyranny.
The Founding Fathers worked hard to prevent the government from abridging anyone's right to express his opinion - even the CEO of a business. Nowadays, in the interest of tolerance and fairness, many people want to do just that. Be careful what you wish for ...
When you chomp on a Chick-fil-A sandwich, that's not bigotry sauce, it's honesty and individuality dressing. If you don't like the taste, take your business elsewhere.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Citizen initiated referenda
Eliminating them would require an amendment to the Maine constitution.
And it would have to begin with a referendum because there isn't a legislator in Augusta with the courage to suggest going against the cultural conservatives favorite bludgeon. What I find ironic is that the bludgeon is being used against them this year. Should the gay marriage thing pass - and it should, if for no other reason than it's right - I'm sure the conservatives will be out in force with their petitions to reverse next year.
I agree Mike - let the free market decide. I'm sure they'll do just fine in that region of the US where they even deep fry Twinkies.
But, you really need to insert an angelic chorus each time you mention the founding fathers (no caps, it's not really a proper noun).
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.So quick to criticize and
So quick to criticize and trivialize others beliefs – how tolerant of you.
The tolerant left are the more intolerant group of people that I’ve ever met.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Tell it to the OP, Tony.
FF or ff, it's not how you spell it, it's how you recognize their genius.
Indeed, there are regions of the country where haute cuisine does not start with a lobster roll and end with a whoopie pie. That doesn't make them wrong, just different from us Mainahs - and aren't we all just supposed to get along with government mandated tolerance?
Amending the ME Constitution is easy. But you won't find a Democrat in the state willing to start the process, for fear of eliminating a tool that may prove useful in the future.
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Mike , 20:10 Saturday HST •
Con - cons ( constitutional conventions ) happen all the time and i am democrat in probably the most democratic state in this blessed union of ours
http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/September-2008/Does-Ha...
It's part of the ongoing debate in most constitutional democracies -- even the Eurozone -- and federal republics
b tw - We eat just about n e thing here , too , that is either very fresh or very cooked : sushi , sahimi , sea urchins , feral pig , mac nuts , home grown cacoa and roasted coffee, etc :)
Your problem in Maine is with your chief elected executive officer
He is a laughingstock and shows tendencies of being paranoid delusional ( read : Nixon )
h t h , /s , Dr. Steve Dosh , pundit , and frequent contributor
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