Country music singers and God

[Image from American Music Channel]

Charley Daniels is a country singer who blathers on about God, patriotism and fighting and stuff. I don't know, but I wonder if he's ever served in the military. There's another country, John Rich, a Jesus-lover, who's singing anti-Obama crap these days; God told him to. One of Toby's Keith's songs is downright racist, but I don't know if Keith loves Jesus or not.

These are jest a few of the goofy good old boys from Nashville, some of which love drinking, Jesus and c-a-p-i-t-a-l-i-s-m, and think this is a good old Christian country thet jest don't got no room for faggots and Democrats, and liberals, and atheists, and socialists and commies!


Enter Diamond Rio. They used to be "stars." Back in 2005, the group recorded a song called "In God We Still Trust." Sounds about right for a country group worried about liberals and godless commies and goddamn atheists.

Most people have probably never heard of it. I hadn't. Then I read a tidbit from The Boot.

And naturally, when weirdness rears its ugly head, it often derives from Florida. In St. Augustine, an elementary school evidently required its students to learn this Diamond Rio tune, "In God We Still Trust," "for an end-of-the-year-after-school assembly."

Two families have sued the St. John's County School Board, claiming that this "amounted to religious indoctrination and interfered with the parents' right to raise their children according to their own beliefs."


The pressure worked. Just before the lawsuit was filed, the song was dropped from the program. But it ain't over yet. A hearing is set for April 8 in Jacksonville.


This kind of thing goes on in our country every single day. For some reason, many personnel affiliated with our public schools, are so obtuse they don't seem to ever understand the fact that they cannot promote Christian or any other religious propaganda in their school settings, or they do understand and do it anyway.

It's not like this is a secret! It seems, rather, that if a school board is dominated by christianists and the school district is made up mostly of fundy christianists, the powers-that-be figure they can get by with their little "evangelistic" endeavors in spite of the fact they violate the Constitution!


So Diamond Rio is out. For now. But the game isn't over. In your city, today or tomorrow, there will be another school somewhere proselytizing your children in the name of Jesus; sometimes using the work of Nashville's finest country music stars; probably because they are such great theologians and such terrific role models.

What do you think would happen if a public school required its students to learn a song called "In Allah We Still Trust"?

In God (weak, impotent) We Trust!

The fundamentalist christianist god is really weak and powerless. He just can't seem to stop these damn atheists from putting up signs that get fundamentalist christianists all bent out of shape.

Because their god is so weak, fundamentalist christianists have put together a "national advocacy group" called In God We Trust, which is a misnomer if there ever was one.

In God We Trust was established precisely because the folks who established it DO NOT trust in God!


You can tell because they're in an uproar over signs by the Freedom from Religion Foundation which suggest that gods, angels, devils, heaven and hell do not exist and that religion is myth and superstition "that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Bishop Council Nedd, (who ever heard of the name, "Council Nedd"?) the chief and very righteous poohbah of In God We Trust is UPSET!

"In God We Trust will oppose any effort to place these signs in any state capital or in any government location in Washington, D.C.," he said. "These signs have nothing in common with a menorah, a nativity scene or a Christmas tree. They are an attempt by anti-religious bigots to equate a belief in God with enslavement and to ridicule the majority of Americans who believe in God."


Ah, yes. Actually, the signs have something to do with a Christmas tree, for Christmas trees derive from pagan celebrations. And the people of the Freedom from Religion Foundation are not bigots like Bishop Nedd is a bigot, as they simply want to present an alternative viewpoint. The bigotry is all on the side of the bishop who hate atheists with a passion and thus tries to deprive them of their First Amendment rights. Furthermore, the sign does not "equate a belief in God with enslavement [other than in a mental or spiritual sense] and it does not ridicule anyone.

Nedd is not too bright. He whines "Why do these zealots have the right to post signs on public property attacking their countryment?"

Well, bishop, as we said, the signs do not "attack" anyone, and if you think you have the right to erect religious signs and figures on public property, then those who disagree with you have the same right. Read the damn Constitution!


Ultimately, it comes down to irony. Bishop Nedd and his cohorts simply do NOT trust in God! That's why they are out in the cold, secular wind, blowing hot against atheists and other nogoodniks: God doesn't have the power to stop the infidels by herself.

Or maybe God doesn't care? That would sure put hair back on a bald head!


Actually, this nonsense should stop. Throw all this crap out of our hallowed government buildings and off of our hallowed government property.

And Bishop Nedd should go home and drink a couple of gallons of eggnog and mellow out! Especially since the FFR had no plans to erect their sign in the nation's capitol in the first place!!!!


More here.

In God We Trust - Just another old license plate

In January of 2007, the State of Indiana began offering license plates bearing the pithy religious slogan, "In God We Trust."

They should have been sued for false advertising. Neither the State of Indiana, nor any state in our beloved Union trusts in God. The states may "trust" in a lot of things, like cutting taxes for the rich, higher sales taxes which gouge the poor, Republican legislators, legislation prohibiting same sex marriage, political bullshit, letting the infrastructure go to ruin, shutting down Medicaid programs, teaching creationism in public school science classes, etc., but they sure as hell don't trust in God.

You'll also note that the plates don't explain which god it is that the State of Indiana trusts. It would be hard pressed to find two people who believed in the same god, even in the same church or the same state legislature. Most of them couldn't even offer a sensible description of their god.


None of that is the problem for the State of Indiana, however. The problem that arose in Indiana was that people who opted for the "In God We Trust" license plate did not have to pay the specialty plate fee of $15.00. [One other plate, which reads "Lincoln's Boyhood Home" is also exempted from this fee.]

And that's the reason the ACLU of Indiana sued, charging that people who chose the "In God We Trust" plate received special treatment.

The court decided against the ACLU. The decision was appealed. The appeals court stuck with the original decision, saying that these plates were nothing special, merely alternatives to the standard license plate.


In other words, "In God We Trust" is essentially a meaningless slogan and if you want your car license plates to bear those words, you shouldn't have to pay extra. It's really no different than the standard plates, said the appeals court. Or you can get a plate that says "Lincoln's Boyhood Home." Again, there's no difference between that and the standard plate or the "In God We Trust" plate.

Personally, I think no state should nod to god on their license plates for the simple fact that the Constitution of the United States forbids such nods to no god.

But it's nice to know that if christianists in state legislatures offer that option, it really doesn't mean anything. It's just a slogan, like "Kilroy Was Here," or "Lincoln Slept Here."