CNN video bashes atheists.

American Atheist
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CNN video bashes atheists.

Part 1

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiyJzWy3CDQ

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPHnXrU5JzU

Please follow the link below and contact CNN's "Paula Zahn Now" and tell them what a shitty job they did on selecting a panel to talk about Atheism (really would have helped to have an actual Atheist on there, no?)
E-mail Here


LtPaint
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I'm a practicing Catholic,

I'm a practicing Catholic, but at least I'm smart. In my opinion, CNN should never have aired that.
Why?
Well lets look at what was wrong with it.
1. Athiest militiant? That would mean that Christian "fundamentalist" are actually Christian militiants.
2. A Christian country? Just because Christians are the majority does not mean this is a Christian country.
3. Pray in school? In public schools, prayer should not be in school.
4. The women said that Europe is falling under us because it has a larger Athiest population. Last I checked the Euro is above us.
5. And finally, the one woman keep telling saying the Athiest should shut up. Someone should send her the one video made by I believe the RRS that says why Athiest do what they do.
Thank You American Athiest for those videos and everyone should watch these to see what our country is becoming.


AgnosticAtheist1
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Oh I sent her a piece of my

Oh I sent her a piece of my mind.

Recently, on your show, you featured a piece on discrimination against atheists. This video was followed by a debate featuring 3 panel members, 1 Jewish, the other 2 Christian. This panel was intellectually offensive. Karen Hunter makes completely false claims, for example, that atheists believe in nothing. The ONLY implication by the word atheism is a lack of belief in god. You can still have a belief anything else you want, as an atheist. She then goes on to paint a caricature of this situation as a joke, saying that atheists would feel more accepted if we made HALLMARK cards. The problem is not that atheists do not have good relationships within the people who love and care for them, the problem is from violence from people who hold negative beliefs of them. Nobody would DARE to say that, during the Civil Rights' Movement, Blacks should just make up a holiday, send cards, and that would solve their problems. It's simply preposterous. She has also apparently not heard about religious freedom, or freedom of speech, saying that atheists 'need to shut up'. She THEN goes on to say that prayer should not have been taken out of schools. What part of separation of church and state did she not understand? There is a Supreme Court precedent, namely in Engel v. Vitale, and the case is not discriminatory against theists, as prayer is still LEGAL in public schools, it just cannot be mandated or led by public officials. She then goes on to tell atheists not to impose upon her 'right' to have prayer in public schools. Unfortunately for Karen, the law is not based on her personal desires and qualms; it is based off of the judgments both of the Supreme Court and congress (crazy idea, I know). Her 'right' to have mandated or publicly led prayer in public schools is just as nonexistent as the 'right' claimed by Jim Crow racists to act in a racist manner in hiring. Debbie interjects that America is 'a Christian nation'. Apparently, she never read the Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11 of which states 'the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion'. Furthermore, the strong precedent of separating church from state in Supreme Court cases, and the fact that almost ALL of the founding fathers were deists, implying nothing of Christian doctrine or dogma. If her claim is that it is a MAJORITY Christian nation, she might as well claim that America is a 'white nation', as it is indeed majority white. This does not grant Europeans a tyranny over the minority. This is America, a country that values differences of opinion and belief, and it should NOT be restricted by discriminatory attitudes towards minorities, especially in light of one of the most important elements of our governing system, pluralism. The final conclusion, by all three panel members, is that America is NOT an inclusionary nation? What happened to the melting pot? What happened to equality of opportunity? What happened to freedom of worship, the VERY same goal for which the Puritans set out to find? She then goes on to point out the influx of Muslims into Europe as a fault of secularism. Last time I checked, Islam was not a sect of secularism. The thing that is ruining the secular governments in Europe IS the influx of religious extremism. Finally, what she neglects to mention is that compared with the secular, 'immoral' nations, we have FAR higher divorce, rape, murder, and STD rates. In conclusion, as shown in Near v. Minnesota and NYT v. US, prior restraint of speech is illegal, and these speakers, however erroneous their opinions they are, should still be allowed to speak. But in the interest of journalistic integrity, should not news programs show balanced views from both sides? Or have they all become subservient to ratings? Hey, this is just the opinion of a 17 year old kid who likes politics and philosophy. But this is America, and I have a right to it. However, if I wish to be taken seriously, I have an obligation to provide evidence, such as legal precedent for court cases, constitutional backing, or political science. I feel I have done that. If only our news common-carriers would hold to the same intellectual and journalistic integrity.


American Atheist
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I love the response,

I love the response, AgnosticAtheist1, I also mentioned the Treaty of Tripoli to them.

It would've been fair if they had at least one atheist on the show. They should do this all over again and they better get it right.


LtPaint
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I may not be an Athiest, but

I may not be an Athiest, but I think that was amazing.


American Atheist
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Everyone, download Brian

Everyone, download Brian Sapient's rant about CNN. Right-click on the link and "Save as target as" or "Save link as".

Here it is. http://www.BrianSapient.com/media/CNNbashesAtheists.mp3


toaaj42
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That aggravated me so

The second part was the worst.

Hallmark cards...right... and SHUT UP?

The lady speaking and saying we should "shut up" (meaning the first one) really makes me angry.

She also sounds backwards...

The man was semi-tolerable.