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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you, Wayne. You have presented a cogent,
thoughtful, educated, and realistic picture. I am 100% in agreement. This needs
to be presented to all political parties, all voters, and especially to
candidates. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As a confirmed Wiccan, my religion does not enter
into how I vote, unless and until the candidate espouses views that reject
and/or affect any and <STRONG><U>all</U></STRONG> religious values. I
<STRONG>WILL NOT</STRONG> vote for anyone who puts religion into their campaign.
I fervently believe in the separation of church and state (<EM>as did the
Founding Fathers, benighted as they might have been given their time and
knowledge</EM>). "True Christian" has little meaning when one recognizes
the multiplicity of faiths which claim the name. I even know Wiccan Christians
who follow both the Christ and the Wiccan faith.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <EM>(And I'm way tired of hearing the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) aren't Christians, or
the whoever aren't "True Christians". And I'm really tired of hearing that those
who aren't "Christian" are evil, bad, and crazy. Frankly, it would be refreshing
if That O'Donnel Woman really was a Witch!! And it would be fun to dis her,
too!)</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"True Christian", in the US at this time, seems to
denote a rabid bunch of fanatical cults outside both the Teachings of Christ,
the rule of Law, and common decency. I find these people ridiculous, more than a
little bit scary, and totally suspect. They seem to draw in frightened (and
frightening) people who have no life, no self esteem, and little
independent thinking ability. What a great way to recruit fanatics---wind
'em up with fear and loathing, find someone to blame, and send 'em out to do
their worst. Postcards, anyone? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If they field a candidate, I am all for laughing
that nut job out of the race. And make no mistake, if they are elected we will
all be extremely sorry as they impose their own version of Biblical Law on the
rest of us.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Debi R-S</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> ----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, October 19, 2010 5:30
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Religion &
Political/Public Office</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Roger Falen
writes:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>"I abhor religion being dragged into
the political arena."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Roger's view reflects that of some
other locals who have commented on Postcardgate.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Are these people delusional, living
on the far edges of reality?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I
can only most charitably assume that these unfortuantes somehow live lives
totally sheltered from all current media and who have never studied a whit of
history!<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>It doesn't take a rocket scientist
or even a feeble-witted child of five to see what happens when government
becomes entangled with religious beliefs and practices.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Even the slowest among us who read or
see the news can see what the effect of mixing religion and government in near
and middle-eastern countries leads to.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In addition to war, there is a great loss of individual liberties and
the punishment of people for doing the most ordinary things we who live in a
relatively secular society take for granted.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>And such can't happen
here?<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>See:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><A
href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2004/spring/taliban-on-the-palouse"><FONT
size=3>http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2004/spring/taliban-on-the-palouse</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>And from <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Credenda/Agenda</I>, part of Christ Church
Cult plan for establishing a theocracy:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><A
href="http://information-receptical-f-001.googlegroups.com/web/No+Pity.pdf?gda=wwI7jz0AAADfAMERIoT7virUdex72FZFZk8k9aCIPpL0tETFw78ewz1Kn5mchz5NeryAAGVuIfTlNv--OykrTYJH3lVGu2Z5&gsc=X-dULwsAAAD-DGKXSQTnGiMJE7R5fCvi"><FONT
size=3>http://information-receptical-f-001.googlegroups.com/web/No+Pity.pdf?gda=wwI7jz0AAADfAMERIoT7virUdex72FZFZk8k9aCIPpL0tETFw78ewz1Kn5mchz5NeryAAGVuIfTlNv--OykrTYJH3lVGu2Z5&gsc=X-dULwsAAAD-DGKXSQTnGiMJE7R5fCvi</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT
size=3>Reality<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>In evaluating a person who proposes
to become our elected representative or other public functionary, we need to
know what facts/probabilities/theories they believe, the set of values they
act upon, and the relative strength of their belief in these values and how
they will apply them to the duties of their
office.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>And that's not enough.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We need to know how this candidates
justify these beliefs and values.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>In the great early murder mystery,
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Moonstone</I>, by Wilkie Collins,
Gabriel Betteredge justifies his beliefs by looking things up in <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Robinson Crusoe</I>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Why is this
relevant?<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Think of the trillions of hours of
careful work and verification that got us to the point where we have enough
knowledge to send persons to the moon and watch it in real time.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This accomplishment was not the result
of depending on a work of fiction or a book of fairy
tales.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>It is the empirical method that made
this knowledge possible, not wistful thinking propounded by power motivated,
bullheaded "my way or the highway" thinking.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>For the literate (those who can read
at the high school level) who read this post an essay by Charles Sanders
Pierce called "The Fixation of Belief" expresses this concept far better than
I could possibly do.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT><A
href="http://www.peirce.org/writings/p107.html"><FONT
size=3>http://www.peirce.org/writings/p107.html</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>There are thousands and thousands
and variations of such of different religions, all inconsistent with each
other (and with logic and reality) and there is no reliable, tested system to
tell which of these religions, if any is true.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And how horribly absurd to believe in
an alleged omnipotent God that can't even help us get this allegedly important
belief straight.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>And a candidate presenting oneself
as a Christian is supposed to persuade us to vote for
them?<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>There is not one major ethical issue
upon which Christians agree.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Whether it be the death penalty, abortion, same gender marriage, if
stealing or lying is sometimes OK, and even surprisingly, whether to aid the
poor and unfortunate or not.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>The word "Christian" is so vaguely
and ambiguously used as an adjective that it tells us nothing about how a
person who uses the word to describe themselves is likely to
act.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>The more fervently a person holds a
belief, the more likely they are to impose this belief on others, especially
if they are running for political office.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If they are fervent religious
crackpots, they are very likely to try to impose their beliefs derived from
their crackpot religious beliefs with very predictable and unpleasant
outcomes, if history is any guide.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Knowledge is not perfect.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some of what we now believe is most
likely wrong.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Most everyday
knowledge (and political, social, and economic knowledge) is not nearly as
probable as the knowledge carefully wrought by physics or chemistry.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Most political, social, and economic
theories are current guesses, and there are major disagreements among the
so-called authorities on most of these theories.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>None the less when I vote, I wish to
vote for someone who bases their views on beliefs and values derived by
observation, beliefs whose approximate probability can be judged based on our
current state of knowledge, not by relying upon a book of fairy
tales.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>I do not wish to have my life
determined by someone relying on some unverifiable, almost infinitely
improbable set of religious or superstitious fantasies.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I do not wish to have some religious
crackpot tell people of the same gender that they can't marry, for example, or
that homosexuals ought be executed or exiled, or that adulterers ought to be
executed.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>In the case of Gresham Bouma of the
Freeze Church, which believes the Bible is the allegedly <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">inerrant</B> word of some alleged god, I
do not want Bouma or any other religious crackpot to give acceptance, legal or
not, to act as proscribed in Numbers 5:11 et seq or to act in accordance with
many of the other ridiculous, cruel proscriptions found in the
Bible.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><FONT size=3>Therefore, that’s why I believe that
any candidate's religious beliefs and how these beliefs determine their
thinking and actions are important.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Further, any candidate who is unwilling to discuss their religious
beliefs and how they determine their thinking and actions, and with how much
weight these beliefs determine their thinking and actions is not only being
dishonest, but is being a cowardly chickenshit and not deserving to hols
public office.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV><FONT size=2>
<DIV><BR>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID
83843</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975<BR></FONT></DIV>
<P>
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