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Apr 26, 2012A Massachusetts lawmaker is under fire in Falmouth after she opened a town meeting with a poem instead of the traditional recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Melissa Freitag, the vice chair for the Falmouth Board of Selectmen, refused to say why she would not allow her fellow lawmakers or residents to recite the pledge.
“I would rather not tonight,” she replied when Selectman Kevin Murphy questioned her about the omission.
Freitag, who is a part-time faculty member at the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, was filling in as the acting chair of the meeting.
Murphy told television station Fox 25 that to his knowledge the pledge has been recited before town meetings for more than two years.
“She took it on her own liberties to omit it,” he said. “She did block the rest of us from actually saying the Pledge of Allegiance.”
The move stunned some community members.
“I’m just furious,” resident Robert Volosevich told the Cape Cod Times. “She’s not in touch with the voters in Falmouth at all.”
“It’s the beginning of a slippery slope when you don’t say the Pledge of Allegiance,” one man told Fox 25.
Falmouth resident Brenda Scannell told the newspaper that Freitag’s decision was baffling.
“I just don’t get that at all,” she said. “I know we certainly have our challenges (in this country), but this seems like a step backward.”
Freitag did not return calls from Fox News seeking comment.
Local selectwoman nixes pledge request: MyFoxBOSTON.com
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Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012I never say the pledge.
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012I never say the pledge.
Reply Mitchell Arnstein / April 26, 2012Teaching our youth to hate
America is a crime against
the youth and our country!
We need to investigate the
Law schools, look at Obama
he knows nothing about law.
I would have said the Pledge of Allegiance anyway and make her kick me out~And I dam sure wouldn't vote for that POS Atheist or Communist~By the way those two words are synonymous~!
Reply Greg McNeil / April 26, 2012"Atheist or Communist~By the way those two words are synonymous"
Yea,no thay are not. But by all means,keep on being ignorant.
Reply Greg McNeil / April 26, 2012"Atheist or Communist~By the way those two words are synonymous"
Yea,no thay are not. But by all means,keep on being ignorant.
Reply Greg McNeil / April 26, 2012**sorry typo** they
Reply Greg McNeil / April 26, 2012**sorry typo** they
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012My lack of belief in God or Gods, does not make me a communist. I am an conservative and atheist. Atheists have many different political views, we only have one thing in common, LACK of Belief in a god or gods. BTY do you think these atheists are communists? Barry Manilow, Marlon Brando, Woody Allen, Rodney Dangerfield, James Cameron, Kevin Bacon, Lance Armstrong, Hugh Hefner, Ernest Hemingway, Billy Joel, Jack Nicholson, Mark Zuckerberg the FACEBOOK guy, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, Helen Keller,and i could go on and on.
Reply Kelly Whitten / April 26, 2012Yep….just one more Obama ass-licking sperm dump thinking she can order everyone to do as she pleases…..if she don't want to say the pledge then fine….kick her boney ass out.
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012Poor right wingers whine, whine, whine.
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012Poor right wingers whine, whine, whine.
Reply Steve-Brenda Rickel / April 27, 2012@ Kelly Whitten: You talk to Jesus with that mouth?
Reply Don Fleming / April 26, 2012Another prospect for a one way ticket to Iran!
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012Why?
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012Some councils open with Christian prayer, but complain when a Buddhist prayer opens with prayer.
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012Some councils open with Christian prayer, but complain when a Buddhist prayer opens with prayer.
Reply 'Linda Bassett-Harrington / April 26, 2012Yea, shes all done. "I pledge the Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
Reply 'Linda Bassett-Harrington / April 26, 2012One nation under GOD. "
Reply John Ammons / April 26, 2012'Linda Bassett-Harrington, then why don't the "Christians" act like Christians?
Reply Rick Midwood / April 27, 2012'Linda Bassett-Harrington Indivisible with justice for all!
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012'Linda Bassett-Harrington We are not a nation under a god or gods. we are a nation void of religious influence. That is the American way.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012James Kormanec
Our God given rights not-withstanding. The 'Certain Inalienable' ones. Why was the capital the site of the largest church services in Washington, DC for over 100 yrs? Why are there murals adorning the walls of The Capital proving such. Why is God referenced on practically every single monumnet in DC? Why is Moses along with the 10 Commandments on the facade of the Supreme Court? You are very misinformed. These are facts.
Jim DeLeo It only proves how wide-spread the delusion is. Non of what you posted proves anything other than the world is full of foolish people.
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo The "official" 10 Commandments according to Exodus 34 are;
1. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep.
4. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
5. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
6. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven;
8. neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
9. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God.
10. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
Jim DeLeo Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk? Seems silly to me. And you follow this crap? seriously??
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012James Kormanec
No, the world has a small percentage of non-believers who have self annointed moral superiority over the majoirty and call them foolish to reinforce THEIR OWN delusion.
James Kormanec
No, the world has a small percentage of non-believers who have self annointed moral superiority over the majoirty and call them foolish to reinforce THEIR OWN delusion.
Jim DeLeo small percentage?? You are living in a cave!
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo China is 77% Buddhist, Japan 96% Buddhist. Mongolia 99%. Thailand 97%. Taiwan 95%, and according to your God, they are all condemned to burn. Silly Humans. You are lying intentionally or ya really need to do some research before you open your Mouth.
Reply Timothy Daniel Binzel / April 27, 2012James Kormanec Try Exodus 20. These are the 10 Commandments referenced above by DeLeo. The current 'American way' as you put it may be so, but it has strayed far from it's roots founded on religious freedom and the freedom to worship our Creator.
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo Why is Moses along with the 10 Commandments on the facade of the Supreme Court? Hmmmmm??? OK, So is Confucius, and Solon. Moses( with the 10 commandments on the Capitol Building) is depicted as one of several historical exemplars of lawgivers, not as a religious figure.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012James Kormanec
you know nothing of my God, James. The aforementioned religions all have one thing in common. Belief in a Diety. I am not affiliated with nor practice any organized religion but consider myself spiritual and believe in a God of my understanding. You assume to know but are quite wrong. My beliefs are mine and yours, yours. I do not condemn nor mock Atheists. I DO NOT HAVE THE CONTEMPT you so obvioulsy display. I have done my research and believers out-number non-believers by a wide margin. Doesn't make either better or worse than the other. Just facts.
Timothy Daniel Binzel So the 10 i posted was a typo in the bible? God didn't have his coffee that day?
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012To me, atheists are simply non-believers. To you, believers are foolish. Who gave you the right to make that judgement? You have no proof at all of the non-existance of a Superior Being nor do I have proof of one. I just choose to believe. You have little to be certain about.
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo you know nothing of my God, James. You say that as if you have insight into my life? I once bought the delusion you now find yourself in. Brainwashing from others and the society (you live in) is very strong. If you where born in China, do you really think your religious views would not be influenced by that society? A 97% chance you would be a Buddhist. Born and grew up in Iran, you would most likely be Muslim… When you realize there is NO GOD, the world makes sense.
Reply Timothy Daniel Binzel / April 27, 2012James Kormanec It is not a typo. Read chapter 20. 34 is in reference to worship and practices for people in that day.
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo I am certain of one thing. The God of the Bible is Bullshit.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012James Kormanec
It is lost on you that I do not practice a religion. Your opinion is only yours and you are a nobody as far as I am concerned. Go one non-believing. The world as I see it makes perfect sense. The way you see it makes perfect sense to you. So, my question is; Who the hell are you to tell me how I should view anything? I THINK it sucks to be you. I could be wrong. But I doubt it.
Timothy Daniel Binzel So according to that view, God must have a new set of comandments for us in the present day? For like maybe condemning Genoicide? (nope he endorses that), ok, how about slavery? (nope, he gave guidelines on how to beat your servants and slaves) maybe sexism? (nope). I give up.. God has covered everything so clearly. maybe he or she can make a commandment against racism? nope, he is in favor of that also…again i give up!
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Timothy Daniel Binzel So according to that view, God must have a new set of comandments for us in the present day? For like maybe condemning Genoicide? (nope he endorses that), ok, how about slavery? (nope, he gave guidelines on how to beat your servants and slaves) maybe sexism? (nope). I give up.. God has covered everything so clearly. maybe he or she can make a commandment against racism? nope, he is in favor of that also…again i give up!
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo You are wrong, i see that you are a fool. good night.
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo You are wrong, i see that you are a fool. good night.
Reply Shelly Widen BouSamra / April 27, 2012Just get up and say it anyway. What are you afraid of, some Dartmouth prof?
Reply Shelly Widen BouSamra / April 27, 2012Just get up and say it anyway. What are you afraid of, some Dartmouth prof?
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Funny to see people get riled up when you take away the Pledge of Allegiance. Does she not support her country? Do we need a pledge to show we aren't a "communist" or "atheist"? This reminds me of the uproar over someone choosing not to wear an American flag lapel pin – last time I checked I didn't wear one and I seem to love my country more than ever before.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012You, Mr. Schneider, represent your partie's mascot. A Jack Ass.
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo How am I a jackass? Make a clear, concise, and factually based argument as to how anything I said was necessarily wrong.
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo by the way, I'm just another college football playing, fraternity partying, NRA gun-toting, copenhagen chewing, law school-educated, blue collar "communist" or some other nonsense, right? I also listen to country…yep, sure do stand for everything wrong.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012Kind of like swearing the oath, which all service members must do. It's an American thing. Something you, John, would know absolutely nothing about!
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo there is a difference between swearing an oath to uphold the Constitution and defend our country when you are on the battlefield. It is quite another thing to actually sit here and make the argument that someone needs to say the pledge of allegiance to show everyone they are a real American. Again, enough with the nonsense Jimmy. Hit me with something clear, concise, and factually based. I'm ready for it.
Reply James Kormanec / April 27, 2012You say that as if there is something wrong with being an atheist?
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012John Schneider
The pledge is a 'pledge'. To country. Law educated means zip. Plenty of far left, ACLU card carrying POS come out of law schools. Pledging allegiance to America has nothing to do with disproving anything, atheism, communism or otherwise. Someone wasted alot of money on your education if you fail to grasp that.
James Kormanec not at all…i'm mocking how some think they can infer an individual doesn't believe in God by their political beliefs.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012John Schneider
Not much difference between swearing an oath or pledging allegiance. Our lawmakers and elected officials also swear an oath. They are not on any battlefield. You keep on proving my point. Hofstra didn't teach you much.
Jim DeLeo apparently I wasted a lot of money on my own education then Jim. You're from New York, you know a thing or two about government handouts I assume. Some of us come from nothing and make something of ourselves. How does being a member of the ACLU mean someone is a POS? Last I checked, they fought against government infringing on civil liberties. If you're a conservative and hate big government you should probably be a card-carrying member yourself.
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Jim DeLeo Hofstra didn't need to teach me anything – I learned plenty coming from Iowa. Where did you go to school? Are you one of those people that dogs on others who pushed themselves and actually got a higher education?
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012John Schneider
The ACLU was founded by affirmed Socialists and Communists. That is a fact you can check all day long. Look up Roger Baldwin and Crystal Eastman along with Earl Browder, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the United States, who admitted that the ACLU served as a “transmission belt” for the party. Baldwin agreed, claiming, “I don’t regret being a part of the communist tactic which increased the effectiveness of a good cause.”
Again, wasted money, John. You should have studied more REAL history versus the re-written versions.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012John Schneider
Pace University. Business owner. Yeah, you certainly are a bright one, John. Just a little short on facts and history.
Jim DeLeo LoL…business owner? Shit, you could probably solve all of the country's problems. Pace? You're making fun of Hofstra, but you went to Pace?
Reply Mike Landon / April 27, 2012Ok John Schneider I'll chime in here. What exactly is your argument? Let's start there, kinda like a thesis. You made a statement, asked two questions, made an attribution, and then stated you love you country. Instead of setting the stage for a conflict spiral with you argument, make it concise so we all can understand your first comment please.
Reply Mike Landon / April 27, 2012*your
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Mike Landon my comment was simply that this chatter below about taking the Pledge out means all of the sudden they are a communist or don't support their country is absurd. 1) communism is not a term to be thrown around lightly. 2) why can't there be a contrasting of what makes our country great, without having to instantly attack people when they do something we don't all agree with (I don't support what she did). That, I believe is what kind of riled me up here.
Reply John Schneider / April 27, 2012Funny to see people get riled up when you take away the Pledge of Allegiance. Does she not support her country? Do we need a pledge to show we aren't a "communist" or "atheist"? This reminds me of the uproar over someone choosing not to wear an American flag lapel pin – last time I checked I didn't wear one and I seem to love my country more than ever before.
Reply Jay Warren / April 27, 2012If you were all so outraged..why didn't you stand up and recite it anyways. She couldn't have the whole board and audience expelled now could she? Cheap words of "outrage" after the fact don't count for much people.
Reply Curtis Dunn / April 27, 2012Concur…I'll bet I could have finished the pledge before the police hauled me out!
Reply Steve-Brenda Rickel / April 27, 2012I love this country, just not the right wing part! Civil War!
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012We need to rid the country of the filthy unions. The Teamsters and the Hoffa's. What a wonderful legacy.
Reply Steve-Brenda Rickel / April 27, 2012You wish you could then we would all be serfs. Righties use the Unions as the Boogyman and your post proves it. 40 hr. work week, 8 hr. day, employer health insurance, child labor laws, safety at the job site, etc. thank unions. Be educated before becoming a parrot of the Reich Wing!
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012Steve-Brenda Rickel
You're an exploited tool. I feel sorry for you.
LIBS are the stupidest species on earth.
Reply Jim DeLeo / April 27, 2012They hate facts.
Reply John Seastrom / April 27, 2012Another lamebrain liberal should be exile or move to another country!
Reply Robert Wyatt / April 27, 2012I'm glad this anti-American twit doesn't live in my home town… I would have to fly the Flag of my country in front of her house every day….I pledge alegience to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republicfor which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all….
Reply Morgan Painter / April 27, 2012The sheeple allowed her to dominate them when it was obvious she was in the wrong. They, the sheep, should have stood in union and recited the pledge no matter what she had to say. I would hope that a crowd of well meaning people could over shout one wimpy little commie wench. If they can't, they deserve to be made servants to the state.
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