Iowa State University to Remove Gideon Bibles from Campus Hotel

Last week, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal gave a speech at the Reagan Library in which he warned of a silent war on religion in our country;  he said:

This war is waged in our courts and in the halls of political power. It is pursued with grim and relentless determination by a group of like-minded elites, determined to transform the country from a land sustained by faith — into a land where faith is silenced, privatized, and circumscribed.

This is playing out all across our country. Prayer is forbidden in schools.  It is forbidden at most sporting events.  Creches are not allowed without other secular symbols.  Courthouses across the country have been stripped of displays of the Ten Commandments.  "Happy Holidays" is the greeting you get in shops now instead of "Merry Christmas."  It goes on and on.  We have become a nation of political correctness run amok.

Now we get a report that a guest in an Iowa State University hotel was offended by the Bible in a drawer in his room and has filed a complaint with the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  As a result, the hotel will have all Bibles removed by March 1:

Rooms at Iowa State University’s Hotel Memorial Union will no longer contain Gideon bibles, after a guest complained to a watchdog group about “unwelcome religious propaganda in the bedside table.”

The Bibles will be placed in the hotel's browsing library.

The basis of the complaint seems to be in part that the university is state run.  In that case, why not remove the Bibles from the library, too?  Isn't it also state run?

In his speech at the Reagan Library, Governor Jindal referenced a famous quote by Margaret Thatcher:

Margaret Thatcher famously said, 'Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.’ The secular elites understand this just as well as she did. And they know that to take over America, they must make war on this philosophy.

Part of the rotting of the moral fabric of our country occurs in liberal universities.

As far as I can tell, Iowa State University put up no fight whatsoever to this complaint.  Last year the campus hotel at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also removed Bibles from their rooms.

How can one Gideon Bible in a drawer be so offensive?  If I saw a Quran in a drawer would I file a lawsuit or a complaint?  I'd like to think not.  I'd just close the drawer.

Governor Jindal noted in his speech that our founding documents were designed to protect people of all religions.  It just seems that the Christian religion is the one under attack these days, from the Duck Dynasty flap to the Hobby Lobby case, Christians are constantly having to defend their rights to express their religion.

To the spineless administration at Iowa State University, I would leave you with this story about how a Gideon Bible saved one man's life.

Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington Holds His Ground Against the DOJ

Christianity is under attack in Bossier Parish by the DOJ.

Via Amanda Crane at Bossier Press Tribune:

The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office has been denied federal funding for its mention of God and use of religion in the Young Marines and Youth Diversion programs.
Sheriff Julian Whittington received notice that funding would be restored only if he signed a letter “pledging that no prayer or mention of God would be allowed” in the programs. However, Whittington said he is appalled by the government’s decision and refused to sign the letter, forgoing the $15,000 grant award.

Be sure to read the whole story.

Sheriff Whittington is standing his ground and says the program will continue with or without the government's support.

This issue came about, in part, because the Young Marines Program has been such a success in reforming troubled kids.  Because the program was so successful, local judges began ordering troubled kids to the Young Marines Program rather than sending them to jail.  Because the YM was never intended as a "diversion program," the Louisiana Law Enforcement Commission, who partially funds the program through a grant, suggested that the Sheriff's office establish a new diversion program for court-ordered juveniles.

In December 2012, the Sheriff's office submitted their grant proposal for the Young Marines funding and in response was told that the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, would not fund the program as long as God or prayer was allowed, even if that prayer was voluntary.

When asked to provide a letter saying no mention of God or voluntary prayer would be allowed, Sheriff Whittington refused and withdrew his grant request.

Then, in February 2013, the Sheriff, submitted a request for funding for his Juvenile Justice Delinquency Program and was refused on the same grounds.

So, now the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office has been refused funding for two programs aimed at helping troubled kids just because Sheriff Whittington is standing up for core values, religious freedom, and voluntary prayer.

Shame on the DOJ.

You can read more about the Young Marines program here.

La. State Senator Barrow Peacock proposed a resolution (PDF) asking the Louisiana delegation in Washington for review of this decision, which passed with unanimous approval:

Peacock on Wednesday got unanimous Senate approval of Senate Resolution 192 asking the Washington, D.C. delegation to review the basis for denying funds for the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office Young Marines Program. 

"This program has had prayer that has been led by teens who are in this program, and when it hasn't been led, they had a moment of silence," Peacock said.  "But now they are being told by our federal government, by the Department of Justice, that there can be no prayer activity or they will not fund this program."

Sheriff Whittington sees further implications beyond just the Bossier Young Marines:

The Young Marines Obligation states, “From this day forward, I sincerely promise, I will set an example for all other youth to follow and I shall never do anything that would bring disgrace or dishonor upon God, my Country and its flag, my parents, myself or the Young Marines. These I will honor and respect in a manner that will reflect credit upon them and myself. Semper Fidelis." 

When it comes down to it, though, Whittington said this isn’t a situation that effects just Bossier Parish youth.

“This is an American issue,” he said. “How do they think they can do this? Now you’re telling me that we can’t have voluntary prayer or even mention the word God?”

Sheriff Whittington's concerns about the "bigger picture" can be seen in U.S. Representative John Fleming's report that attacks against Christianity have been occurring at an alarming rate in the U.S. military to the degree that he has offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would guarantee service members the right to practice and express their religious beliefs freely without fear of reprimand.

There has been a little local noise to chip in and help fund Whittington's youth programs but the bigger picture, it seems to me, is a government that is too big.  The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ has no business in a state run program for troubled kids.   They want to put grant money on the table but you have to forsake God to take it.

Kudos and support to Sheriff Whittington of Bossier Parish who vows to find the funds within his own department, and without the feds,  to keep the programs going.


(Photo credit:  The Shreveport Times)

Update:  Thanks to The Dead Pelican for the link!

Smartest President Ever is Now an Expert on Judaism

Barack Obama yesterday:

Obama also stressed he probably knows about Judaism more than any other president, because he read about it - and wondered how come no one asks Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner or Senate minority leader Mitch McConnel about their support to Israel. 

That's absolutely amazing.  The arrogance of that statement leaves me speechless.

I've read a lot about the war in the Pacific but does that mean I know more than anyone else about it?  More than any other teacher?  More than any president?  More than any person in Louisiana?  No matter how you qualify it, it's still an arrogant and condescending statement.

I've read a lot about the history of pressed glass and about depression glass.  Does that mean I know more than Milly Rose about it?  Not hardly.

And how does Obama know what every other president has read or what they knew?  Oh wait, probably because he's read about them.

Bill Kristol:

And the claim that Obama knows more about Judaism than any president? His vanity boggles the mind. One could begin by citing Adams and Madison, who knew Hebrew, or Harry Truman, who knew Jewish history ... but it's silly to dignify this claim with a rebuttal. In thinking about the presidents since Truman, though, I'd guess the president who knew the most about Judaism was Jimmy Carter, who taught Sunday school and had a deep interest in religion. So let's stipulate that of the modern presidents, Carter and Obama "know" the most about Judaism. But what is it they know? In Obama's case, one could ask whether what he “knows” is what he learned from Rashid Khalidi and Jeremiah Wright.

I would add Thomas Jefferson to Kristol's list.  He knew a thing or two about Judaism and religious freedom.  He was certainly well read.

I've read about narcissistic personality disorder too...

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism. 

 ...and while I'm not expert, I sure know it when I see it.

(H/T:  Memeorandum)

Where is the Common Sense?

The Shreveport Times has a front page story today on a controversy at Airline High School. Read the whole article, but the short version is that on August 31 of this year, members of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) distributed (with administrative permission) approximately 1,200 Bibles to students who wanted them during the lunch hour. 

That seems to be about all of the facts we have here.  The rest is a lot of he said/she said stuff:  rumors of students being harassed, Bibles being thrown at students who didn't take them, and so on. There is no corroboration of this.

It appears that the person most offended is not even an Airline student; he's a "former student" who got a text message from someone who told him Bibles were being handed out.  He and another student demanded an investigation from the principal. 

The principal says:

"To this day, not one parent or student that has any affiliation with Airline has complained to my office, and everyone has said the FCA students were passing out material just like any other student organization may do."

Okay so what's the problem?  Why is this front page material?  There are folks in the "comments" section following the article reminding everyone of the separation of church and state and how "religion should not be in the schools!"

And so we've come to this.

There's even a Facebook page with 241 (as of this writing) "Likes" entitled Keep Religion Out of Airline. 

Why not just banish the FCA all together?  Why allow FCA to even exist? 

What of the national See You at the Pole day?  Get rid of that, too? Of course, See You at the Pole is not held during school hours and is entirely student generated.  I assume it is that the Bibles were handed out during school hours that has the anti-religion people so riled.

It's only a matter of time, I guess, before the ACLU jumps in.  In fact, that former student has already contacted them.

The kerfuffle at Airline High School is just an extension of what we've been seeing for years with this school or that one abolishing the pledge because it has the word "God" in it; abolishing prayer before graduations or athletic events, having "HolidayTrees" instead of Christmas trees, no nativity scenes in public squares, no more Ten Commandments at the courthouse, and who can forget the "Spring Spheres" last year?  Just last week a story broke about a CA teacher who docks students 25 points every time they say "Bless You" if someone sneezes.

It seems tolerance is good for everything except for Christians.  In attempting to avoid offending anyone, we've offended everyone. 

Where is the common sense?