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Thursday, February 04 2010 - 07:27 PM
Is religion distracting Lancaster from the real issues?
With God on their side: Is religion distracting Lancaster from the real issues?
By Chris McGuinness
News in the Antelope Valley has been focused lately on issues of faith and religion. Between the questionable remarks on the Muslim faith by Lancaster Councilwoman Sherry Marquez and the “Christian city” comments made by Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, it seems that the issues of faith, religion, and their role in Government seems to be on everyone’s mind.
After spending the last week or so covering the fallout from the Marquez debacle, I can safely say that I have come to the conclusion that this incident if nothing else is a perfect example for why church and state should be separate.
Now I’m not talking about taking the word “God” out of the pledge of allegiance or “In God we trust” off our money. I’m talking about using one’s religious beliefs as the sole basis to govern others, blinding those in power to those who do not share their beliefs. As we can see from recent events in Lancaster, the issue of religion has shifted the conversation away from other more important issues at a time when an important election looms just over the horizon.
Right now as people stand around bickering about who’s God is better, there is still about 17% unemployment in the Antelope Valley. This is just one of the issues that are much more pressing than the ridiculous debate that is going on right now, and while all this fervor might get Christians out to the polls come election day, we have to ask our selves at what cost?
While I would bet that the majority of Lancaster residents are in fact Christian, there are those who follow a different faith or no faith at all. These people are tax-paying citizens who live work and even own businesses. Mayor Parris said in his State of City address that he wanted input and participation from citizens to help meet the challenges the city faces, but how comfortable will they be if their elected officials sit on their hands when one of their own makes divisive and hateful comments such as those made by Councilwoman Marquez?
As a Christian, I am shocked and sadden by what has occurred. As a resident of the Antelope Valley, I am disappointed that the national attention this controversy has garnered has done nothing to show outsiders that we are not the backward, small-minded place we are stereotyped as. In the end I think everyone should take a step back and realize that no one will ever agree when it comes to matters of religion.
In the end I would remind everyone that there is nothing wrong with having faith and values, however when it comes to running government at any level common sense should take precedent over religion, gender, race, sexual orientation or any other number of irrelevant factors. Lets put a stop to this insanity and come together Christians and non-Christians, to make Lancaster, Palmdale, and the whole Antelope Valley a great place for everyone to live.
Here is our opinion, we welcome yours
www.avnewstodayonline.com
lancaster says...
as a liberal that is accused of basing all my decision on feelings, (as us libs are defined by others), it is amazing to see this election moved to nothing more or less then intangibles.
nothing real or concrete. just what people “feel” about their higher power.
but i was raised in church, and “hating”
just wasn’t what jesus was asking from us.
although i’ve walked away from all religions, i still not only like the teachings of jesus, but understand that if any one actually lived by his teachings, we would be in better shape then we are now.
i also believe that this is what THEIR religions also teach. whoever they are!
and as THEIR fanatics corrupt the teachings of THEIR religions, OUR fanatics corrupt the teachings of the
christian religions.
so yes, please, save us from the mixture of govt. and religion.
lil rex’s mouth also brings up the question of taxation without representation.
since he’s not including non christians in his governing, do they get their taxes back?
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fewenuff says...
“I am disappointed that the national attention this controversy has garnered has done nothing to show outsiders that we are not the backward, small-minded place we are stereotyped as.”
“You can’t handle the truth!”
PLEASE anyone that has been here for more than 30 secs can see the symptoms.
Throw the lying bums out!!! and their little dogs too!
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dbeardw says...
Religion became an issue:
When Rex decided the ACLU issue needed to go on the ballot — purely a political move;
When the Mayor on his own authority — not a city council vote — decided to call a meeting of the ministers and tell them he wanted their congregations to vote against the ACLU; (wasn’t that overstepping his political boundaries)
When the mayor put a cross up in a powerpoint presentation and declared Lancaster a Christian Community;
When the mayor now thinks paying for the room and the meal will absolve him from abusing his position.
The religion issue ties into other issues. Rex doesn’t think before he steps into his own poop. He’s chasing the Christian vote so hard he forgets there are others who are not interested in that type of rhetoric.
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fewenuff says...
Wrecks stepped in his own poop? Before thinking? Sure it wasn’t one of the little dogs’ poop? Are you sure he didn’t think about stepping in his or one the little’s dogs’ poop before doing so?
It’s spelled W-R-E-C-K-S.
15:01 Wrecks, 15:01!
TTLBOATLDT!!!
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Harding Republican says...
Chris,
I think you grazed an issue that is of utmost importance. There is 17% unemployment in this valley. Change will come with investment dollars. We all know that controversy is bad for business. Just ask Tiger Woods. If a businessperson has a choice between locating a business in Lancaster or Palmdale, what city would they choose? If you live in Lancaster and get on the Mayor’s bad side, you will have an ethics investigation instigated against you, or worse yet, you’ll have a fence thrown up around your business.
This is more than a discussion of church and state, this is a matter of damaging the reputation of our community to the point that it impacts investment.
This City has become the laughingstock of Southern California, and it didn’t need to be. I don’t really want to pay the price for someone else’s religious convictions.
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Ray Cunneff says...
Chris,
I deleted my post once you fixed the typo, but I didn’t mean to also delete my praise for your article. Your piece raises several interesting questions about the Antelope Valley’s future.
The 17% unemployment rate jumped off the page at me because that’s the same percentage of registered voters who typically turn out on election day. Now I’m not suggesting a corollary here – they are almost certainly not the SAME 17%, just that it seemed an odd coincidence.
Being originally from New York City, the ultimate melting pot of the big cities, many of the issues that seem to occupy our time and energy in the A.V. can easily seem provincial, even quaint.
I’ve lived here for almost twenty years and local politics often seemed to me like “high school with money”, the pissy student council election that never ends.
But our lingering small-town mindset really doesn’t square with the facts. With a combined population of nearly 300,000 just in Lancaster and Palmdale, we can really no longer afford small town thinking.
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PKShaw says...
The top three issues for every person in a leadership position, whether locally or at the state level, should be jobs, jobs, jobs. A 17% unemployment level cannot sustain the quality of life we have come to expect. Having that many not paying in to the system is bad enough; having that many collecting unemployment benefits is disastrous. The only way to turn this state around is to put people back to work.
The only local politician that seems to understand this is Steve Knight. He is looking at every bill that is proposed and asking the question – is this a job killer or a job creator? He said he is going to start publishing a list of the proposed bills and labeling each according to this criteria.
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dbeardw says...
I believe PK makes a valid point about JOBS yet that is not the only barometer we have to use to encourage or create fiscal solvency.
Jobs is but one element. There is also the need to cut in the right places. I know people for example at a public university who make $90,000 and up and sit on the backsides all day long yawning while professors…excellent professors are being laid off and students can’t get the right classes to complete their degrees. Something is not quite right here. It’s like we need someone to sit down and look at the total picture of where this city, this county, this state and this country is and create some operational models that make sense.
For example, we need to look at the administrators in some of our public agencies and determine the acceptability of what they are being paid vs. what they are accountable for. Sometimes it makes more sense to cut out some of the CHIEFS AND HAVE MORE INDIANS.
For me it’s a balance of Jobs and Cutting Waste. Forget about friendships, cronyism and hurt feelings. If an action doesn’t create JOBS AND /OR trims real fat — not imaginary fat — then that action should be highly questioned.
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dbeardw says...
By the way, nice Blog Chris. Facing reality is a daunting task but nevertheless it has to be done. If we are going to live here, and have a healthy quality of life, we will soon find out that we ALL will either sink or swim together.
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dbeardw says...
But we need true leadership for leadership is always the key.
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Denise_Latanzi says...
I’ve been listening to some of the “down below” talk radio on this newest flap in Lancaster, and I’ve got to admit, I’m almost in awe (in a bad way), of how easily and blithely this mayor lies.
He has repeated over and over again that the people protesting the Marquez Facebook post are “out of towners” with “terrorist” sympathies. Drew Mercy may be able to get away with that in the AV Press, but its not true. The people who showed up to protest at the Palmdale Mosque all live here or are from here.
Rex announced today on the Pat Morrison show on NPR that the closest local Mosque is in Palmdale. Not true at all, maybe he is really unfamiliar with the east side of Lancaster, but he should try Division south of L, which I believe through there is called 5th street east. There is a beautiful Mosque there where for 6 or 7 years, the local 9/11 memorial was held.
He said he paid for the Pastor’s lunch- Not true. The city of Lancaster will be billed for that lunch and the ONLY reason he has now agreed to pay for it was it was obviously a campaign event. It’s highly illegal, several complaints have been filed with the Attorney generals office over this “lunch”. The city also provided the material for this lunch which Rex has not been billed for. Also illegal. He may think that Lancaster is his personal biggy bank, but its not.
In his KFI interview and again on NPR, he basically accused the even the MAYOR of Palmdale of being a terrorist or a terrorist sympathizer or someone with terrorist ties.
This is an AMERICAN city, not a Muslim city or a Christian city. It belongs to all of us.
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entity1 says...
My X is Muslim. We have a daughter. Does that mean that I am associated with terrorists?
Denise:
I have been to the mosque in Lancaster. I had to write a paper on Islam. My Syrian Christian friend went with me. The people at the mosque were very friendly and sat down with me and answered all of my questions.
I wonder if anybody who has “ties” to the middle east is a terrorist. Does that include my daughter?
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Captain Jason says...
I, too, have friends that go to that mosque on 5th East. heck, I have even given them a ride there on occasion in the past. Does this automatically make me a ‘terrorist sypathizer’ from out of town, as Parris would call it?
This clown has made the City of Lancaster and, indeed, the entire Antelope Valley, a laughingstock for the entire nation (and it could go worldwide if he keeps it up). Yet his royal hiney just can’t accept that he, his ‘bravely ran away’ vice mayor and his cuss jar wielding church lady, are in the wrong here.
Religious fanatacism is wrong, whether it comes from an islamafascist zealot, or a hyperchristian zealot.
As fewenuff would say, “Throw the lying bums out… and their little dogs, too!”
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AVSkyEye says...
We’re talking religion instead of issues as the election nears. We’re right where the churchers want us. Rex isn’t a fool. Every issue and article which embattles the churchers helps Rex’s cause. That’s why Rex uttered the words “Christian city”. He knew what he was doing. He said the code for “I’m one of you, churchers”.
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hobojunction says...
A 17% unemployment rate, homelessness, section 8, poverty, empty buildings, the fake “downtown revitalization” and businesses hauling ass as we talk about church?
To change the subject and accuse anyone who speaks out about racist comments, especially from an elected official, a “terrorist sympathiser” is a throw back to McCarthy. Have they really lost their minds?
Did anyone see the cartoon the VP had in the paper today about our Mayor and Marquez? I think they got it right this time.
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lancaster says...
i’m starting to call or email every talk station our lil fanatic rex goes on, and spilling his lies. i would suggest others do the same.
unless u all enjoy the idea of OUR TAX DOLLARS supporting paul.
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lancaster says...
whats really amazing is lil rex passing himself off as a christian??? nothing christian about the man!
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AV Town Crier says...
I think Pope Rex did this on purpose. While we are all focusing on the religious BS, Rex and his cronies are looting City Hall.
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lancaster says...
i’ve emailed cooly and antonivich, not that they will do anything, but if enough people bitch, they WILL throw lil rex under the bus.
THEY HAVE TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION.
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AV Town Crier says...
Rex finances Cooley—there will be no bus throwing on this. Mike will be termed out after his current term is up.
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Denise_Latanzi says...
Oh, let’s make one thing perfectly clear- While Rex may appeal to the LBC crowd, he is very quickly losing favor with mainstream Christians here who are very uncomfortable with the idea of he and his little bobblehead using the type of speech that is inflaming and may well incite violence against people they know. Christian pastors are speaking against this attitude in our churches. Its a good thing.
Rex got one thing right in his interviews. The majority of Christians here are good and decent people that love their neighbors, even their Muslim neighbors. They aren’t going to sit on the sidelines while they are being ripped apart in a calculated attempt to drive Christians to the polls.
Oh, and don’t get me wrong, I’ll be very clear here- They, Parris and Marquez to a lesser extent because she is just plain ignorant, are using this in a very calculating manner, and they absolutely are inciting people to the point of making death threats against LOCAL MUSLIM’S on blogs here. Their calculated and misguided attempts to drive bigots to the polls may well get someone hurt here, and as Muslim women are the most visable because of their traditional dress, hopefully most rational people can understand the level of fear in that community right now.
The difference between a REAL Christian and someone who just plays one at council meetings is that real Christians find this behavior sickening.
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newstoday says...
We are all of many faiths…just our opinion
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