Happy Unconstitutional Prayer Day!

I couldn't resist this lovely shot this morning with the (not quite yet) flowering crabs in the foreground.

The House was supposed to convene this morning at 10:00 but by 10:25 the DFL still hadn't finished caucusing, so I had to leave because the parking meter was running out. Oh well, I wound up seeing many of them later while I was in front of the Senate. When the House recesses, many representatives file by down the Senate stairs.

Outside the Capitol today, the UNCONSTITUTIONAL (my opinion), "National Prayer Day" was being observed while a "Day Of Reason" was being observed in the rotunda by the Minnesota Atheists. The difference? One is officially proclaimed by the federal government...guess which one. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, "CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." It doesn't say "a" religion, but "religion," meaning ANYTHING having to do with religion. That means the PEOPLE are free to pray 'til hell won't have it, but the government is not. National Prayer Day is the result of Congress making a law respecting an establishment of religion...establishing a day of religious ritual. It's wrong and illegal and the founding fathers that bent over backwards to keep religion out of the Constitution are turning in their graves.

There are far more agregious breaches of church state separation these days, like the daily religious rituals that open sessions of the House and Senate, this is just the outrage du jour.

DFL Representative, Joe Atkins thanked me for being there today.