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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
 Posted - 04/10/2008 : 20:25:42
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Gee, do you think this is heartfelt or her succumbing to public pressure?
http://friendlyatheist.com/2008/04/10/illinois-state-rep-monique-davis-apologizes-to-rob-sherman/
| Yesterday, State Representative Monique Davis (D-Chicago) called me from the Floor of the Illinois House of Representatives to apologize for what she had said to me at last Wednesday's hearing of the House State Government Administration Committee. Rep. Davis had said, among other things, that atheism is dangerous to the progression of the State of Illinois, that children should not be allowed to know that my philosophy (atheism) exists, and that I had no right to testify to any Illinois legislative committee because the People of Illinois believe in God. She concluded by ordering me to “Get out of that seat!” |
I really hope that Harry Shearer includes this in his "Apologies of the Week" segment on le show. http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/ls
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"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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Edited by - marfknox on 04/10/2008 20:30:39
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2008 : 21:15:11 [Permalink]
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Either way, I like it! If she's sincere (I highly doubt that), great. If succumbing only to pressure, then it's a great day for atheists and their friends to be able to mount such pressure!
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2008 : 23:12:53 [Permalink]
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Usually when someone shoots off their mouth in the heat of something-or-another, you can bet that it is really the way they feel.
I have learned to listen carefully to drunks!
If she persists in her apology, OK., but I doubt it Otherwise, someone in the Party who understands the basic secularism of the Democrats has gotten thru to her and told her how the cow ate the cabbage.
She is a fucking fundy idiot, and should be excommunicated, but not until after November, because apparently we are going to need every vote we can get! God, I hate politics, it damn well forces you to be a god damn hypocrite - principles be damned, the vote is the only thing! |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 03:02:49 [Permalink]
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I've little doubt that it was the public thumbscrew that turned the trick, and I too, have learned not to converse with drunks -- you find out too many things about them, all too accurately.
On the other hand, at least she's beginning to pay lip-service to civilization. But on the gripping hand, I don't think it'll last all that long. Leopard's spots, & so forth.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 08:51:39 [Permalink]
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bngbuck wrote: | God, I hate politics, it damn well forces you to be a god damn hypocrite - principles be damned, the vote is the only thing! |
Eh, compromise has a bad wrap. There are some things that an individual should not be willing to compromise. But most things have enough uncertainty about them that we can and should be willing to compromise, if for no other reason than we are each a discreet mind that must live with the rest! This balance is not just the plague of politics. It is the plague of being a social animal. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 08:58:38 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by marfknox
bngbuck wrote: | God, I hate politics, it damn well forces you to be a god damn hypocrite - principles be damned, the vote is the only thing! |
Eh, compromise has a bad wrap. There are some things that an individual should not be willing to compromise. But most things have enough uncertainty about them that we can and should be willing to compromise, if for no other reason than we are each a discreet mind that must live with the rest! This balance is not just the plague of politics. It is the plague of being a social animal.
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Yes, and the Theory of Evolution has shown that this is common in all social species and predicts that such cannot exist without it. But like buck, I too, hate it even though I comment on it frequently.
Good comment, marf!
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9698 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 13:26:08 [Permalink]
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If it had been a heart-felt apology, it would have come sooner.
After such a flood of protests, it more resembles pandering to shut the masses up. Call me a cynic for questioning the honesty... |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 13:35:33 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
If it had been a heart-felt apology, it would have come sooner.
After such a flood of protests, it more resembles pandering to shut the masses up. Call me a cynic for questioning the honesty...
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I'll call you honest for being the cynic. That's my take on it as well and I suspect that it is fooling no one except the chronically optimistic and the outright suckers. Y'know, thinking about it, there ain't a hell of a lot of difference....
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2008 : 14:18:20 [Permalink]
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Nowhere in this "apology" does she actually take back anything she's said. So, as it stands, it seems she still feels atheists are dangerous, don't stand for anything, and that children shouldn't even be aware that we exist. Imagine if Davis went off on a Jew or Christian like this. Do you think Miss Davis could get away with such a tepid apology?
Plus listen to the implications of what she's really saying. Davis blames her outburst on the fact she was upset after reading about a school shooting. What's the connection? Would such a motive explain a person who attacked Judaism, or Christianity, or Islam? Then how does a school shooting possibly explain the venom she directed at an atheist? The implication is obvious: Rep. Davis blames school violence on those dirty atheists who are responsible for keeping God out of the classroom.
So far from being a stab at a sincere apology I can accept, I actually find that this tardy excuse merely compounds the insult of the initial outburst. I applaud Rob Sherman for his graciousness in accepting Davis' peace offering. It was the best he could do in this situation. However, I see no reason why the rest of us should accept anything less than a full retraction of everything she's said to sully the non-believing community.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 04/11/2008 14:24:14 |
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Monique Davis apologizes
