Once again the Jesus freaks have to have official government support for
their own personal lunacy.

Alabama Town: Church or Prison, your choice.

Stacey Tallitsch

Sun Sep 25, 2011 at 02:14:50 PM EST

Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence
misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine,
or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select church can
pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be dismissed.

The Alabama branch of the American Civil Liberties Union plans to send Bay Minette officials a letter demanding that they suspend the program. While
the group says it supports alternative sentencing programs that save money,
it believes the plan in Bay Minette violates the Constitution, state ACLU Executive Director Olivia Turner said in a statement.
"But it is a fundamental principle of the Establishment Clause that the government cannot force someone to attend church," she said. "When the alternative to going to church is going to jail, the so-called `choice' available to offenders is no choice at all."

City officials did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

Pastor Robert Gates of Christian Life Church leads one of 56 congregations participating in the effort. He predicted it would succeed.

"You show me somebody who falls in love with Jesus, and I'll show you a
person who won't be a problem to society but that will be an influence and
a help to those around them," he told the television station.

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/9/25/141450/867

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On 9/25/2011 2:44 PM, Ross Sauer -> All wrote:

Once again the Jesus freaks have to have official government support for their own personal lunacy.

Alabama Town: Church or Prison, your choice.

Stacey Tallitsch

Sun Sep 25, 2011 at 02:14:50 PM EST

Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select church can pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and

the

police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be dismissed.

The Alabama branch of the American Civil Liberties Union plans to send

Bay

Minette officials a letter demanding that they suspend the program. While the group says it supports alternative sentencing programs that save

money,

it believes the plan in Bay Minette violates the Constitution, state ACLU Executive Director Olivia Turner said in a statement.
"But it is a fundamental principle of the Establishment Clause that the government cannot force someone to attend church," she said. "When the alternative to going to church is going to jail, the so-called `choice' available to offenders is no choice at all."

City officials did not immediately return calls from The Associated

Press.

Pastor Robert Gates of Christian Life Church leads one of 56

congregations

participating in the effort. He predicted it would succeed.

"You show me somebody who falls in love with Jesus, and I'll show you a person who won't be a problem to society but that will be an influence

and

a help to those around them," he told the television station.

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2011/9/25/141450/867

--- Xnews/5.04.25
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No disrespect intended, I've always appreciated your forwarding of your "nEWS stuff" to here...but after reading the new rules (new to me) all I've got to say is that it seems that your kind of offerings are all that will be permitted any more.

Quote this or that, but don't dare say anything!

Used to be that you were laughed at for factuality, now no one can say anything.

No wonder there isn't any traffic! YOW!

--
Yep, I'm the Atheist. I'm chock full of Ath!

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Ross Sauer wrote to All <=-

Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a
fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select
church can pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be
dismissed.

This seems like something that would totally violate the separation of
Church and state. As a former LEO, I don't understan why it would be up
to the police department to enforce this? If this was the case I would
see if they had a local Unitarian Church to attend? I wonder if they
picked the Hindu Temple as their place of worship if that would fly...
or the local Mosque.

You can't legislate morality... every time it's tried it fails!

The Alabama branch of the American Civil Liberties Union plans to send
Bay Minette officials a letter demanding that they suspend the program.

I wonder how successfult that was?

City officials did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press.

Working for City government her in Louisville, KY this is no surprise.

Wow... I don't know how I missed this one.

Allen

... Internal Error: The system has been taken over by sheep at line 19960
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Ross Sauer wrote to All <=-

Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence
misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a
fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select

Ross won't be getting back to you on this one. He has been gone for a couple of years or more.

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