Seven state constitutions discriminate against atheists

http://www.nebraskaatheists.org/article1.htm

Two examples:

Article 6 Section 8 of North Carolina’s State Constitution
“Disqualifications of office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.”

Article 9 Section 2 of Tennessee’s State Constitution
“No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.”

If you want my sympathy, don’t use people like this as your example.

Today I got a letter from America’s Second Harvest. In it there’s a copy of a letter written by the matriarch of one of the families the charity has helped feed. She says:

“This is one way we can give back for all the food bank has done to help our family over the past 3 and 1/2 years. And they are still making a difference in our lives, today. When we’re really in need, I still go to our local food pantry. I know I can count on them when I don’t have enough food for my family..”

Then I read a little further:

“There’s nine-year-old Jasmine, three-year-old Janina, and one-year-old Zosia.”

What the hell were you doing having another damn kid if you and your husband couldn’t feed the two kids you already have you child-neglecting jackasses?

Then the letter goes on about the terrible slum they had been living in. No kitchen, no hot water, rats knocking about, etc. SO YOU HAVE ANOTHER KID!?

GAAAAAAH!

If your town is big enough for a food bank, it’s big enough for a Planned Parenthood.  Around here, most of the Planned Parenthoods are on the same block as the food bank.  Take the hint, you imbeciles.  You already had two kids who need you to stop having more kids till you figure this whole food/housing deal out. [RIP Bill Hicks]

What the hell was America’s Second Harvest thinking using these people as an example?  Can we be sure people like this are even going to bother to share the food with the kids?  And are they going to take the gift as a sign that it’s okay to have another baby because “someone” will take care of things for them?  What a shitty example to use for a charity solicitation.

I’m so pissed I could stab an owl

A woman on Title XIX (otherwise known as Medicaid, as in welfare) came into the store for her birth control. She had to pay about $25 out of pocket because Title XIX wouldn’t cover it. A guy came in later the same day with a prescription for 6 Viagra. Title XIX covered it. His copay was $3. The taxpayers have to cover the rest: $90.

Just great. Someone on Title XIX can get $93 worth of boner pills for three bucks but if someone on welfare doesn’t want to get pregnant with welfare babies they’ll just have to cough up the twenty-something dollars a month. Because apparently men on welfare have to be able to have sex but women on welfare should either not have sex ever or get pregnant with more welfare kids. Wonderful.

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UPDATED TO ADD:

It’s been almost 9 months – no, she didn’t just have a baby — and I thought I’d do a followup.  The Title XIX policy has seemed to change since then. Since the first of the year we haven’t had trouble getting some sort of birth control to go through for anyone, but Title XIX hasn’t been paying for Viagra except when the diagnosis code is paraplegia or quadraplegia, and even then they only pay for one or two pills each month. It seems Title XIX is slowly improving its priorities at least.