Comments (25)

Billy Pilgrim wrote on October 16, 2007 3:25 PM:

It is still not understood why the dedicated and respected public servant Tom Heffelfinger left the Minnesota office so abruptly, to be replaced by Ms. Junior Prom Queen.

margaret wrote on October 16, 2007 3:33 PM:

Isn't she supposed to be a "Christian?" What language from a lady, or a Christian!

tom wrote on October 16, 2007 3:39 PM:

She is as much a Christian as those other Liberty U fascists.

cellarius wrote on October 16, 2007 3:43 PM:

The alleged slur or slurs involve the words “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass.”

This is great. They may also include "get", "your", "out", "of", and "here"

Viewer wrote on October 16, 2007 3:48 PM:

As for the Christian remark, I'm so glad and proud I am not a Christian and live a moral decent caring life as an atheist. I see nothing but hate and prejudice and danger within this religious behavior. I'm sick of it being rammed down the throats of the rest of us as if they are better than the rest of us, and yes they all do believe that. Actions speak louder than words. As an outsider looking in, I see all religion at the root of all evils, all wars in the world, all prejudices, and this Christian things is right up there at the top of the list. It's sad to see us here in 2007 still dealing with this cult following of a book written when the earth was flat.

Billy Pilgrim wrote on October 16, 2007 3:51 PM:

Amen, Viewer.

Anonymous wrote on October 16, 2007 4:00 PM:

Ah, if only her last name were spelled exactly like that of the Great Palouse Earthworm. Still, it's close:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060202081127.htm

cozmo wrote on October 16, 2007 4:06 PM:

Amen again. Religions are just huge clubs. I use to belong to one, but I quit long ago. Unfortunately, many christians have forgotten why their club was formed in the first place. It was formed to celebrate and emulate the life of a humble Jewish carpenter who is said to have believed in love, tolerance, truth, forgiveness, charity, and a rejection of materialism. Today, their club stands for hate, intolerance, hypocrisy, lies, war, money, and death.

eye roller wrote on October 16, 2007 4:47 PM:

Hey Viewer, be careful with that brush you're painting with. It's a wee bit on the wide side. You wouldn't want to hit yourself with it.

Vinquus wrote on October 16, 2007 5:12 PM:

eye roller, you're absolutely right!

Most of the people who believe in ridiculous and physically impossible things are perfectly decent human beings.

Clavis wrote on October 16, 2007 5:15 PM:

Viewer, I agree with the above commenter that your brush is a WEE too wide. "ALL"?

I would assume that most atheists, like me, recognize, when they're feeling rational and philosophical and calm, will say that it isn't ALL wars or ALL evils. However, when one is feeling angry, or excited, or put out -- especially in the cultural context of being forced to maintain a polite front for so long in the face of extremist language from the other side -- it is common for one to use insulting or absolutist language, just as a sort of backlash.

Things said in frustration are often harsher or more dismissive than things said in an intellectual conversation. But I would suggest that, between atheists and theists, that the former is far more prepared to have any kind of rational discussion at all, whereas the latter is really not.

So forgive the occasional lapses into hyperbole -- we're only human, after all!

tekel wrote on October 16, 2007 5:38 PM:

Nice troll, Viewer. But you're right- we as a society should take steps to break the stranglehold that authoritarian cultists, Christian and otherwise, have on the body politic.

Religion is always an evil influence on rational government. Until we can find a way to penalize politicians who exploit the church relaitonship, irrational mystics who claim to have conversations with imaginary sky-wizards and hear voices in their heads will continue to determine the direction of our public discourse.

CanadaJohn wrote on October 16, 2007 6:44 PM:

I know we've gotten off-topic, but I'd like to add my thoughts.

I feel that religion has done more harm than good to humanity, however a person can still believe in a 'higher power' without believing in religion.

Religion is man-made to control the population. It's been this way since the first person told another what 'God wants' him to do.

This is, of course, just my opinion and I don't expect anyone to change their beliefs.

SLOUCH wrote on October 16, 2007 7:02 PM:

Vinquus wrote on October 16, 2007 5:12 PM:

Most of the people who believe in ridiculous and physically impossible things are perfectly decent human beings.
*****

Your brilliant sarcasm nails it, Vinquus! Brilliant, I say! Only those "riduculous" religious people believe in the "physically impossible." The rest of us have logic and reason to lead us to the indisputable facts, eh? Why, just the other day I was browbeating an old chum for his continued obsession with human flight, even though science has proven it impossible time and time again. Then he goes off on some rant about the idea of locomotion powered by the SUN of all things! The SUN! Why, thats not even RATIONAL! There's only one kind of reliable power for todays modern travel needs, and that's STEAM, I tell you! Why, the day the sun powers my cart is the day I sprout wings myself!

The only thing I believe in firmly is the acute limitations of human understanding and perspective.

nellieh wrote on October 16, 2007 7:34 PM:

I'm with VIEWER. I have been an athiest for the last 60+years. And married to the same woman for 49+years. 50 next April if I last that long. I'm not going to Utopia or whatever when I die. Just a slab at Case Western University Medical School. If they will take this wrinkled body.

SLOUCH wrote on October 16, 2007 7:57 PM:

OK, the things I say in this thread may seem to be intentionally contentious and troll-like, so I'll disclaim:

I am not religious. I even considered myself an atheist once.

I believe that separation of Church and State is possibly the most important idea of our young democracy (though I also believe that, in the big picture, said separation has been little more than opportunistic lip-service since the Madison administration.)

I play devils advocate on this one because I think our national discourse on religious freedom has the level of maturity of a Jerry Springer marathon.

Many voices on the "Religious Freedom" side can't seem to see Christians as anything other than stupid, irrational nutjobs hell-bent (no pun) on forcing The Bible down their throat. They seem to forget that the very laws they invoke to keep these zombies at bay were written by passionate, intelligent, rational, and practicing Christians, like Jefferson. Their unwavering DEVOTION TO RELIGION is one of the very reasons we have a First Amendment. Period.

I'm not saying religion in government isn't a threat. It is, and its worse than it's ever been. It's just powerfully naive to believe that faith implies stupidity. People far more intelligent than you have changed the world because of their faith.

Mr know it wrote on October 16, 2007 10:38 PM:

The way she looks, methinks she has a hit of the "TARBRUSH", herself!! Classic case of the pot callling the kettle Black!!

I B Joshin wrote on October 16, 2007 11:04 PM:

No matter that some people have changed the world because of faith. Millions of tiny and large cuts by religion are destroying this world.

People should keep their faith to themselves unless someone asks about it.

Langs wrote on October 17, 2007 6:25 AM:

margaret wrote on October 16, 2007 3:33 PM:

Isn't she supposed to be a "Christian?

That's an oxymoron. It's impossible to be a Republican and a Christian. It's like being a compassionate conservative.

It doesn't exist. It's just a made up term like islamofascists.

JT wrote on October 17, 2007 7:33 AM:

Hey, folks, I'm not a religious believer myself, but there's no need to turn this into an uncivil trashing of Christians. That's really off-point.

Some Christians are really good people whose Christianity reinforces what is good about them. Some Christians are really awful people who justify and amplify their own awfulness by cherry-picking Bible quotes. (Christianity evidently works like the old data processing "GIGO" axiom: "Garbage In, Garbage Out." It can make good people better, and awful people worse.)

The problem here isn't that Paulose is Christian. It's that she's apparently not up to doing the important job Gonzales plugged her into and is also part of the general Bush Administration strategy to convert the Justice Department into a fully-politicized tool of the Republican Party.

Also, someone referred to Paulose above as a Liberty U grad. She may have hung with Liberty U grad Monica Goodling, but my recollection is that her JD is actually from one of the Ivies.

Slouch wrote on October 17, 2007 7:37 AM:

Joshin:

So you can condemn religion unsolicited, but anyone with faith shouldn't speak unless spoken to?

Did I miss something?

Billy Pilgrim wrote on October 17, 2007 8:00 AM:

SLOUCH

The predominant religious sentiment among the more distinguished of the Founding Fathers was Deism, not Christianity. There is a distinction. It was Deist thought that influenced the writing of our important early documents.

SLOUCH wrote on October 17, 2007 8:51 AM:

BP,

Agreed, and I apologize for dumbing that point down.

NCBlueneck wrote on October 17, 2007 10:34 AM:

Insofar as some religions close down some peoples' critical intellect (don't question authority), it is a bad thing. But the religious impulse, in and of itself, is not a bad thing.

The Universe -- that which is -- far exceeds the limits of our rationality. There is much to this world that defies logic and common sense. To shut out the irrational and the incomprehensible is to put blinders on yourself.

That's not to defend religion, per se, but to defend the motivation that's behind religion -- to try and make sense out of what doesn't make sense. But to believe that what some goat and sheepherders said two thousand years ago as the literal truth is to put blinders on too.

Religion and Myth have to be reinterpreted in every age to have relevancy and efficacy. We really can't afford another "red state, blue state" polarization here either.

That was a bit off topic, but as concerns Rachel; I'm sure she used her religion as a club, the way some people would use the Rotary or the Toastmasters, to get her job. She is just another incompetent, partisan, hack-job that the "Bushies" love and actively recruit. That she is a closet racist? Doesn't surprise me in the least. Ever notice how many of these people have some issue or another "in the closet"?

shebangs wrote on October 30, 2007 10:59 PM:

The situation in Minnesota is chaotic, dystfunctional and rudderless. If the taxpayers knew what was going on in that office, they would call for her resignation. She is a public employee, paid for by taxpayers. She makes 150,000 per year, and she is incompetent, mean spirited and is ruining the office in Minnesota.Thank god for the men and women there, prosecutors and support staff who try to do the job of putting scum bags behind bars in spite of her incompetence, arrogance and lack of leadership. Believe me I know, I am very close to the situation. People in Minnesota need to stand up, hold Norm Coleman accountable, he nominated her and ran her through the Senate at 4 in the morning with all the other loyal Bushies.