If you only knew how much Ingersoll hit this nail on the head. Here is more from the same speech. "But the sun will not be turned backward. The people of the United States are intelligent. They no longer believe implicitly in supernatural religion. They are losing confidence in the miracles and marvels of the Dark Ages. They know the value of free school. The appreciate the benefits of science. They are believers in education, in the free play of thought, and there is a suspicion that the priest, the theologian, is destined to take his place with the necromancer, the astrologer, the worker of magic, and the professor of the black art."

LOL. If he only could see Missouri today. :)

Kinda reminds me of another landslide vote. cough. Prop C.

Now we know how he got the "K" in Karl.

I think it's fantastic that the popular vote of Christians will allow Muslims to bust out their prayer rugs, face Mecca and pray to Allah in Arabic without fear of religious persecution! They won't mind that at all. We can even throw in the Satanists, Wiccans, and Pagans too! And now, if a school allows the valedictorian to lead a prayer as part of his/her speech, it's all good. Everyone will be totally cool about protecting the free speech of a Devil worshiper performing a prayer ritual on stage? If not they can just leave the event like it says in the Amendment. This is meant, partly, to allow parents to yank their children out of sex ed and evolution classes because it doesn't jive with their religious views. It's unconstitutional and will never last.

Karl, as we respect your right to disregard a belief in God, would you be willing to respect our belief to believe in a higher-power? In addition to that, respect our right to pray in public whether it be in a crisis situation or for the health of our country and its leaders?

I dont know if respect is the right word. I acknowledge your freedom to believe in a higher "power". I empathize with your hopes and desires that prayer makes a difference and understand the psychology behind it. However, your freedom to chant in public has never been under attack. You're not allowed to distract a classroom with prayer, but you can chant outside of class or quietly to yourself. Students can pray together on public property outside of class as well, like they already do in FCA, or like I used to do in a Christian school group I used to be a part of. However, Chanting can't be lead at the expense of the taxpayers by taxpayer paid employees because that would be a violation of our Constitution, which protects your right to chant, but also protects everyone's freedom of organized superstitious incantation rituals without government endorsement.

Snake handlers will have a heyday with this.

Karl,

I was in my classroom when 9/11 happened. Would it have been inappropriate to have a moment of silence to allow those kids who believed in God to pray for our country and its safety? If not, would it have been inappropriate to say a short prayer with the parents who rushed to the school to take their kids home because they were fearful of the immediate future?

Moment of silence, not inappropriate because of the obvious magnitude. Nothing wrong with taking a moment to reflect on the enormity of the situation.

taxpayer lead prayer? Always inappropriate.

A history lesson on the effects of religious fanaticism, appropriate.