Jesus Prayer Opens Texas Textbook Meeting

clipped from newsweek.washingtonpost.com Friday's meeting of the Texas Board of Education, charged with revising the state's social studies curriculum, began with a Christian prayer on behalf of "a Christian land governed by Christian principles," a prayer made "in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." "I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the Spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses," board member Cynthia Dunbar said. The board is expected today to approve final revisions in the statewide curriculum, amending textbook standards to correct what conservative board members such as Dunbar view as hostility toward Christianity and traditional values. And of course they are doing this by being as hostile as possible toward non-Christian and yet entirely American values.

Atheists Lose Suit Against 'God' in Presidential Oath

clipped from www.christianpost.com A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged prayers and religious elements in presidential inaugurations, including President Obama's in 2009. The claims made by atheists regarding the 2009 inaugural ceremony are moot, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia concluded, and the plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the 2013 and 2017 inaugurations. References to "God' by Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and the invitation of ministers to pray "might have misled the uninformed to think the imprimatur of the state had been placed on the invocation of the Almighty and contributed to a social stigma against them as atheists," the atheists maintained. The plaintiffs conceded that the President cannot be denied the prerogative of making a religious reference because doing so would abrogate his First Amendment rights.

It's been a year since my last post?!

Ye gods, I really need to keep up with the blogs I open. Note to self - crossposting is your friend. Same stuff, but different audiences.

So, hi to anyone who happens to wander by here. I'm still on LiveJournal (Seshen), and have recently been assimilated to Facebook (Seshen Wolfsong). A new web site @ http://seshen.us

Will remember to crosspost here to keep things current.

Poll: Obama's First 100 Days

This is the poll I have on my LiveJournal blog. Thought I'd share it here so you could grade in the Comments area and discuss.

clipped from seshen.livejournal.com Poll #1392156 The first 100 days Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All How would you grade President Obama's first 100 days? A: He's done an excellent job so far. Very impressive. B: It's been a reasonably good 100 days. I'm feeling optimistic. C: Fair job, but I was expecting more. D: He's down near the bottom rung of Presidential successes. F: OMG. We are SO doomed.

Druid symbol on veterans' headstones

clipped from paganwiccan.about.com To date I have not received any new letters from vets stating their desire to have the ‘Awen’ symbol on their headstones, nor any copies of letters to next of kin or clergy stating the same. It will be very hard to proceed with this cause as a religious freedom issue unless we can show that there are Druid vets out there who want the symbol. The campaign is at a critical point once again and we really need those letters. Can you please alert your members? It is a good idea to get letters from Druid vets and Druids on active duty in the US military who state that they have the Awen symbol as their emblem of belief and that they want it added to the Va’s list of emblems of belief that can be included on gravestones it issues for deceased veterans. Their letters should state that after death, they would like the Awen included on their VA-issued grave marker which will be ordered by next of kin.

Vernal Equinox - Busting the Myth of Balancing Eggs

clipped from www.universetoday.com Spring officially arrives for everyone, including astronomers on March 20. The word "Equinox" literally means "equal night". It's all about the balance of light - not the myth of balancing eggs. On the universal date (UTC) of Friday, March 20, 2009 at 11:44 (am) both the day and night are the same length. But what's so special about it? It's a date that most of us recognize as symbolic of changing href="http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/earth/why-earth-has-seasons/" rel=external>seasons. North of href="http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/earth/" rel=external>Earth's equator we welcome Spring, while people south of the equator are gearing up for the cooler temperatures of Autumn. So where did the urban myth of balance eggs on vernal equinox come from? It may very well have been the good folks in China who orginally began the myth by patiently practicing standing eggs on end during vernal equinox to symbolize the restoration of balance to the world after a season of darkness. If this symbol of fertility could be balanced on such a day of significance, then surely nature was in harmony!

Spirituality, not religion, makes kids happy

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com The link between spirituality and happiness is pretty well-established for teens and adults. More spirituality brings more happiness. Now a study has reached into the younger set, finding the same link in "tweens" and in kids in middle childhood. Specifically, the study shows that children who feel that their lives have meaning and value and who develop deep, quality relationships — both measures of spirituality, the researchers claim — are happier.  Personal aspects of spirituality (meaning and value in one's own life) and communal aspects (quality and depth of inter-personal relationships) were both strong predictors of children's happiness, However, religious practices were found to have little effect on children's happiness, Holder said. The relationship between spirituality and happiness remained strong However, counterintuitively, religious practices — including attending church, praying and meditating — had little effect on a child's happiness.