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March 4th, 2013
04:06 PM ET
Atheist group apologizes for misquoting Palin, but defends billboard's intentBy Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) – An atheist group that misquoted former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a billboard in Texas is apologizing to the Republican and correcting the mistake. But it continues to defend the “intent and context” of the effort. CNN first reported on Sunday that American Atheists, a group known for its in-your-face tactics, was sponsoring a billboard calling out Palin for something she said while on Fox News. “We should create law based on the God of the Bible,” the billboard reads. The only problem: That isn’t what Palin said.
In an interview with Fox News’ Bill O'Reilly, Palin addressed the growth in American secularism by saying of America's founding fathers “we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the Ten Commandments,” not “should.” Dave Muscato, the group’s public relations director, said in a release that because American Atheists holds itself “to the highest standards of accuracy,” it will “move the quotation marks at our expense, so they do not include the word ‘should.’” Both Muscato and David Silverman, the group’s president, however, stand by the “intent and context” of the billboard. “While I admit that the word 'should' should technically not be inside the quote, the meaning was correct,” Silverman said in a statement to CNN. Silverman initially defended the misquotation, tweeting that “Sarah Palin was NOT Misquoted” and directing readers to a headline from a Huffington Post story. The story headline, however, was also incorrect and did not put quotes around should. Silverman was critiqued for that double down. Hemant Mehta, an influential atheist blogger at Patheos, wrote that a mistake like this “sheds doubt on the whole idea that atheists are the ones who are being honest with you.” Although Silverman said in an e-mail to CNN that he believes “Ms. Palin would stand by what we have quoted her as saying,” he said “all future quotes will be exactly as spoken.” A spokeswoman for Palin failed to respond to CNN’s request for a comment and has not contacted American Atheists about the mistake. Although Palin’s billboard is getting the most attention, it was one of seven ads going up around the Dallas and Austin, Texas, area. Also featured were: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, and Benedict XVI, now the pope emeritus. Santorum is condemned for when he told an Iowa crowd last November that, “our civil laws have to comport with a higher law: God's law,” while Gingrich is criticized for a remark he made at a CNN debate on October 18, 2011, in Las Vegas. “How can I trust you with power if you don't pray,” Gingrich posited. Virginia Davis, spokeswoman for Santorum, thanked American Atheists for the publicity. “At a time when many are trying to remove God from the public square, the senator is appreciative of someone helping him very publicly express his strong belief that we are one nation under God,” Davis wrote in an e-mail to CNN. The billboards cost the group $25,000 and will be up for the rest of the month. American Atheists is used to controversy around their billboards. Last March, the group targeted Muslims and Jews with billboards that called God a "myth" in both Arabic and Hebrew and the same group posted a billboard around the holiday season in 2010 that read, “You KNOW it's a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON.” Both these billboard campaigns generated resistance and praise from the communities around them. Silverman, who has been criticized for this brand of atheism, has long defended the tactic, saying confrontation is meant to “grow the cause and benefit the country.”
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Only for the new members of this blog:
Do not donate any money to American Atheists. Tis just another "non-profit" using a cause as a front for a tax-free investment company.
Said group's founder, Dave Silverman pays himself $100,000+ /yr out of about $500,000 in donations. Said group has an investment portfolio of over a million dollars. And Silverman pays no taxes on the interest, dividends or capital gains on these investments. (guidestar.org)
Instead of sending a donation, simply forward this to your family and friends:
THERE IS NO GOD AND THERE NEVER WILL BE !!!!!!
How much does Billy Bob Clinton pay himself from his stash??
God provides the money, of course. Idiot.
Reality: the little whistle-blower that never was.
I agree. If you don't feel that Silverman is doing anything that will have a significant positive influence on society, and if you suspect that he is just another self-aggrandizing Abbie Hoffman wannabe, send him a token of your esteem, but no money.
Are those esteem tokens expensive?? Sounds like you are naturally a hypocrite.
Lollsabout talking about hypocrisy=pot calling the kettle black. Least credible Goddie EVER.
Yeah square, I know. Ye ol' carrot and da stick. And you've got DRONES. No wonder ya want to rule da wurld.
LOL?? = ignore = pathetic troll
Hoping a drone finds lollsabout soon. As we all kno,w she drones on and on about shit only she can understand.
It's almost comical how the fundi-atheists like to look down their noses at religious people. I guess they never stopped to consider that what they believe takes just as large a "leap of faith" as what Christians believe, perhaps even larger! There is ample evidence of intelligent design. We see it daily. Where's your evidence of evolution...still looking for that "missing link", eh?
Have you fundi-atheists ever considered how ridiculous YOUR beliefs are? Seriously, you really think that man somehow "evolved" from mud....that somehow a glob of "magic mud" spontaneously came to life, and over billions of years, mutated into "man"? Do you really think that is somehow more "intellectual" than the concept of Intelligent Design?
The bottom line is that the ONLY people in this world who you need to fear are people who insist they know the truth, when the truth is not knowable. At least the Christians have the intellectual integrity to acknowledge that their religion is based on faith.
You dopey atheists with your "Magic Mud" theory look idiotic insisting that somehow YOU know that which is unknowable.
Remember, we all die alone...and at some point YOU will be taking your last breath, and finally getting the chance to find out for sure. In the interim, I would suggest to both the fundi-atheists AND the fundi-Christians that you keep an open mind and boldly challenge your own thoughts and beliefs.
Nice straw man. Please cite any reputable source that indicates anyone believes in magic mud.
David you're worshiping the wrong god and you will pay for it!
"For further evidence of the true cause of gravity — that we are being pushed down by [the Flying Spaghetti Monster's] Noodly Appendages — we need only look at our historical records. The average height of humans two thousand years ago was about five feet three inches for males, compared with an average height of around five feet ten inches for males today. Useless by itself, this information becomes quite important when viewed in terms of worldwide population. Humans, apparently obsessed with fucking, have increased their numbers exponentially over the years. We find, counter-intuitively, that a small population correlates with shorter humans, and a larger population correlates with taller humans². This only makes sense in light of the FSM theory of gravity. With more people on earth today, there are fewer Noodly Appendages to go around, so we each receive less touching—pushing down toward the earth—and thus, with less force downward, we're taller."
– Gospel of FSM
(²) If we are to believe that height is a function of nutrition, as we're told, then a smaller population with more food available per person should correlate to a taller height. This is not what we find.
You know, I started out sympathetic to your argument, because I do think all beliefs are based on some level of faith. But your gross ignorance of the science behind the evolution of life from non-life is so stunning it overshadows any small point that might have been hidden in there.
Yeah, mud is just a poor subst*i*t*ute. It was dust. So close but yet so far away.
It's somewhere in the budget, Rail. Lookin' for water on other planets.
Still standing by your characterization of Judge Cowart as an atheist ? If so, just more character assassination through innuendo by the Cowardly Liar.
Oh, I could be wrong on da judge, Rail. But experience and training tells me things that you don't know.
" Experience and training...." Oh. Is that what the therapists call it these days ?
Da judge could have had his Salvation moment 5 minutes before he took his last breath. Rail, ya little antichrist.
Coming from you, that is actually a compliment. Thank you, C.L.
I'm noticing a trend..... the religious constantly lie...... it's lie after lie after lie....
for example, Liar David said... "At least the Christians have the intellectual integrity to acknowledge that their religion is based on faith." Besides the other obvious lies in your post, this one really stands out.... spend about 5 min on these blogs and you'll see how utterly ridiculous that statement is. Christians are constantly spewing how their beliefs are "truth" and "fact"... .FYI... "truth" and "facts" require evidence......... evidence of a god? ZERO!
Atheists don't get it. Atheist judge speakin' to Ted Bundy:
"The Judge, when passing sentence said:
“It is ordered that you be put to death by a current of electricity, that current be passed through your body until you are dead. Take care of yourself, young man. I say that to you sincerely; take care of yourself, please. It is an utter tragedy for this court to see such a total waste of humanity as I’ve experienced in this courtroom. You’re an intelligent young man. You’d have made a good lawyer, and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. Take care of yourself. I don’t feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Once again, take care of yourself.”
Poor Teddy, you be good now.
http://listverse.com/2007/08/22/top-10-evil-serial-killers/
Interesting – I wonder why Cowart was famous for quoting the bible if he was an atheist?
How do you know the judge was an Atheist???
As for Ted Bundy, your buybull condones murder and putting people to death. "Exodus 21:12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death." I'd think you'd celebrate Bundy's demise based on the fact that your imaginary friend approves.
To simple for lol??/ creationist to figure out......
Earth's timeline works better than the bible's....
Time for fairy in the sky to get the hell out of the way.
Peace
Tryin' to be as famous as Lucy??
"Any discussion involving the best at the REGJB usually starts and ends with the late Judge Cowart. A very smart man. Great judicial temperament. A true southern gentleman. Usually responded to most inane objections with "bless your soul", but when he needed to apply his razor sharp legal mind, his reasoning was spot on."
http://justicebuilding.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-best.html
lol?? is
lucy goosey maybe.
Paece
OH PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who cares what this bimbo says? Why is anyone still giving this cretin any time?
"Would" vs "should" to the woman who can't speak proper English and whose sentences make as much sense as a tornado?
BTW – I take it that you didn't keep any of that really nice $150,000 wardrobe the old man's campaign people bought for you back in 2008. Ugly!!!
Who cares about atheists coalescing?? Science proves they are just a clump of cells.
as is everyone, lol??
Sam, I beg to differ...... he's a clump of something else...
WHY? Is it that there are so many "do gooder" groups that want to FORCE others to accept THEIR opinions?
WHY? Is it that they can spend $$$ on THEIR cause, but seem unable or unwilling to help others?
WHY? Do any of us actually think that someone else is going to change our way of upbringing and beleifs?
WHY? Is it that, surveys, reports, state that religion is "slowing down", that we have all these religious scandals, etc.?
WHY? Is it that we "refute, deny" anything that atheists say? Can any of us, that do beleive, state absolutly that there is
one true God and our savior?
MY "beleif & faith" in God and my savior is strong, however, I try to keep an open mind! Religious books have been, and continue to be, written by "humans". Stories embellished, changed, ommitted, by humans! I know of NO religious book (s) that state they are an "original", not changed from inception?
"WHY? Do any of us actually think that someone else is going to change our way of upbringing and beleifs?"
That's non-nonsensical given that a great number of Atheists were once believers. I'm not trying to ridicule you here but just make a point. Not everyone raised with a belief in a god maintains that belief as they grow.
I got news for you Ronvan. All the gods throughout history are just Myths. It was a way of answering something they couldn't understand when the bible was written. Faith is just the absence of evidence. We have DNA that tracks us back to apes. We have archeologists that prove the earth is older then 10,0000 years old. There is no such thing as not " believing science". You can't refute it. Religion is simply getting outdated.
And what does the biblical law recommend for having children out of wedlock? Just askin'.
Deuteronomy 23:2
“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord."
Which one of you two is the straight man??
lol: Do you ever make a coherent statement??
This article deserves no comments, and these morons aka pagans should refrain from using the dollar bills. It's written
Clearly "IN GOD WE TRUST" don' t like it go back to the barter trade. God is real like the guy sitting next to you but without faith you can't even come close of seeing him
What proof is there that god exists? The bible?
Oh No pedro might be going in to logic overload .....
Fermat's Last Theorem and More Can Be Proved More Simply
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130304105652.htm
You might learn something if you read it.
Paece
Pedro I hate to be the one to tell you this. But when before you were born you didn't exist for billions and billions years and after you die you will again no longer exist. Get over it. If I am wrong I will meet you in the same place that you'll probably be. 🙂
"This article deserves no comments, and these morons aka pagans should refrain from using the dollar bills. It's written
Clearly "IN GOD WE TRUST" don' t like it go back to the barter trade. God is real like the guy sitting next to you but without faith you can't even come close of seeing him"
Pagans??? Where do get that idea?? Pagans believe in gods and goddesses, Atheists don't believe in any form of god-not just your god.
Atheists pay tax dollars and the group responsible for posting these billboards pay tax dollars.
As for the whole In god We Trust thing...the Constitution was written in 1796 (??), those words were not put on money until the mid 1950's. If you don't like living in a country founded on equality for all (separation of church and state; freedom of and from religion), then maybe it is you who should consider if you really belong in the country.
Stating your god is real is a lie. You have no evidence to back your god. If the evidence for your god existed, we'd have no reason to question it. Faith is belief without evidence and while you may not care that what you believe is true, there some some who do care.
@Pedro, I think you're confused about the meaning of the word "pagan".
Pedro
This article deserves no comments (and yet you're making one), and these morons ("Moron may refer to: Moron (psychology), disused term for a person with a mental age between 8 and 12, and a common insult for a person considered stupid..." would apply to Pedro more than the people he's attacking) aka ("also known as") pagans ("An adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity, especially when viewed in contrast to an adherent of a monotheistic religion" – if, as I assume, Pedro is referring to atheists, it does NOT apply in the least; and how do you find some sort of equivalence between "morons" and "pagans"?) should refrain from using the ("the" dollar bills? Are we taking about a particular group of dollar bills?) dollar bills. It's written
Clearly "IN GOD WE TRUST" don' t like it go back to the barter trade. God is real like the guy sitting next to you but without faith you can't even come close of ("to" Pedro; it's "to") seeing him
In God We Trust was added to our currency in 1864 (most coins) and again in 1957 (paper money). It does not reflect the wishes of the founding fathers.
Ok...so there's a guy who's as real as I am, but he's invisible if I don't have faith? I could say the same of the Leprechaun sitting on my shoulder. You can't see him because you don't have faith. The failure is yours. Amazing.
Pedro, you're too stupid to see just how stupid you are.
This article deserves no comments, and these morons aka pagans should refrain from using the dollar bills. It's written
Clearly "IN GOD WE TRUST" don' t like it go back to the barter trade.
To simple for creationist to figure out......
Earth's timeline works better than the bible's....
Time for fairy in the sky to get the hell out of the way.
Peace
@pedro........ ahhhhh we heard this crap already thank you.
I challenge the atheist group to write something about muslim. I don't like religion but at least nobody is threatened when the movie da vince code came out.
First off, as much as I don't agree with muslims, they're not the dominant religion in the USA!
Second, he most definitely has had his say about them...he speaks out about all religion.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hallq/2012/07/how-to-criticize-islam-russell-blackford-and-david-silverma/
1. it's islam, not muslim
2. the group american athiests have pointed out that islam is as much a fair tale as christianity
3. the point of the article is how politicians want to have our secular laws conform to their holy book. islam is not a threat in that regard.
pull your head out of your rectum
"da vince code"?
freeindi: For me, personally, I thought the Davinci code was an excellent movie! "food for thought" kind of thing. But as far as not hurting anyone, I would think that when you watch the movie you can see why the catholic church did not like it and made such a fuss over it.
What the hell does that even mean?? Quite the non sequitur....
Who is Sarah Silverman again? An actor? A writer? A comedian? No. She's a Golden calf for atheists!
What is that old broad up to nowadays ? Is she still up there in Al aska?
sarah silverman?
Not read the article much??
Sarah Silverman is Jewish, David Silverman is just a D-bag.
Well if she said the founding father's would... and then you take all of her rhetoric about the founding fathers on the campaign trail and after, we can conclude that she agrees with her (erroneous) perception of them wanting laws based on the bible and thus believes we should do that. So while the quote might be completely accurate, I haven't heard Ms Palin say it was in error and that she doesn't actually think that.
So this really isn't an issue. Her views were not mis-characterized or she would be denying the intent not simply complaining about semantics.
palin is toast, the only thing the republicans was are the honey boo boo's that follow her. Christy is a leader and a caregiver to the folks of new jersey. Palins daughter chose a godly path to open her legs underage and spew vial and hatred comments on tv just like palin with her crosshairs and gabby giffords was shot. Did Palin appologize NOPE she went for the jugular with her blood libel comment insulting millions of jews
Both of them are hindus lairs, way of hindus lairs to use some ones name to spew their own hinduism, absurdity, such as Pauline, laying her hinduism lie about laws of USA, based on book of hindu Mithraism, racist savior ism bible, labeled as Christianity on founding fathers, HINDUISM, SHAME, HINDUISM, SHAME AND HINDUISM, SHAME.
Why do you keep spinning this little web of stupidity? You sound like an idiot.
Idiot yes. But also creepy.
it goes with the territory, Islam is like MS-13, and all followers are gang members, you don't expect anything civilized or decent coming out of gangb-angers, do you?
oh I would apologize to her any place of her choice, any time
We are sorry for mis-quoting you – you lying, ignorant, hateful POS.
Goobs. Everywhere
So Atheists can't read and lie and Mrs. Palin can't understand what she reads if she reads at all and lies!!
Evidently Mrs. Palin can't understand what Grace is all about. Does she knows that True Christianity is NOT about the Law but about God's Grace? Not that we're without law or lawless, but nothing else can be added or "created" in that regard. Or is Mrs. Palin a supersessionist? How ridiculous can this woman be?
How ridiculous can she be? You need to know the context: Sarah Palin, as you may know or at least believe with reason, is actually not a human being at all. She is actually an arctic seal modified by some of my less restrained Republican counterparts in molecular biology to serve as a candidate suitable for the Alaskan climate (both actual and political). This bold experiment went terribly wrong when, through an accident that a proper Lamarckian would have foreseen, Palin found she was able to subsist on 9Lives tuna as easily as on Alaskan crabs and sea bass. So, here she is today, standing on her hind legs (flippers actually) before podia and adoring Republican fans far from her native environment. There is little hope that we will ever see the last of her. With the retreat of arctic sea-ice she has less and less reason to return to her home shores. And, besides, you really can't beat 9Lives tuna with chopped eggs, mayonnaise, and a bit of sweet relish.
"So Atheists can’t read and lie"...
So, I know at least two christian men that beat their wives and kids, so I guess my generalization, a lá Salero, would be
"So Christians beat their wives and children...."
See how that generalization crap you pull works?
....."Palin found she was able to subsist on 9Lives tuna..."
Oh my............ LOL... .. just spit out my coffee on that one.
If Atheists misquote Sarah Palin, then they are wrong about their belief in God.
🙂 Painfully obvious to me, too.
Stupidest comment today.
Palin misquotes HERSELF. And you STILL cannot prove the existence of God, but we can prove the Stupidest. Comment. Today.
LOL The bonus smiley face must really make it so.
We caught the atheists in another lie. Watch them back peddle! 😉
It's PEDAL.
You shouldn't lie, Nancy.
Fox lies all the time about the President...he's Muslim, he's not a US citizen, he didn't go to Harvard, etc. But that's fine, because Fox espouses good Christian values, right? And the ones who are doing the lying are such good Christians.
Back PEDAL from THAT, Nancy.
I don't watch Fox News. Can't stand it. I believe Obama is a Christian. He is a US Citizen. I don't know about his education. But I did vote for him. Twice.
@Nancy
What I find interesting is that if you actually read the article, Silverman first doubled down, got flack from everyone (including other atheists, me included), and then admitted he was wrong. The intent of Palin is the same as what the billboard states, she's said as much multiple times. The issue is pretty much over, and I'm looking for that "back pedalling" you're talking about.
Well good for you, Nancy, but hat isn't what I said, is it?
*that isn't what I said.
Lying is expected hypocrisy within the church. How fucked up is that?
rationalwiki.org/wiki/Pious_fraud
mormonwiki.org/Lying_for_the_Lord
He simply misquoted the lady....oops big deal, we hear that coming from the believers side all the time except that the believers quote an imaginary creature, at least Palin can be proven to exist. He is not representative of all Atheists though. Silverman tends to be very 'in your face' at times but no more than Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Ray Comfort. We may not always agree with him but I suspect not all believers agree with everything some of their leaders say either.
Actually the A&A's do back peddle and they call it getting back to their roots. Short term profits are their goal.
lol: Short term profits...not unlike the long term profits of the tax-free religious groups. At least organizations promoting healthy Atheism and reality pay taxes and are useful to the world.
@truth............. ..."..He simply misquoted the lady....oops big deal, ..."
Exactly...
LOL?? = pathetic troll = ignore
And we are not amused.
Yes we are.............