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HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
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SHMG - historical look at the Inaugural Ceremonies
Message #8740 of 8754 >
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has a new video,
"'So Help me God' - historical look at the Inaugural Ceremonies 1785 -
2005," maintained by the Senate Rules Committee, that can be viewed on
their website:
www.inaugural.senate.gov/history/index.html. The video icon is in the lower
right corner of the page.
About two minutes into the video, the main narrator Beth Hahn, Historical
Editor, The Senate Historical Office, explains:
[George Washington] walks out on to the balcony. And there are people in
the streets, there's people in the windows, and the buildings around. There
[are] people on the roof. Everyone wants to see him. They cheer when they
see him. Everyone is very excited.
He is given the oath by Chancellor Robert Livingston, and when he takes the
Oath he then kisses the Bible - he says "So help me God," and then kisses
the Bible - and those are actually two traditions that carried on by future
Presidents. Everyone has since said "So help me God" at the end of the
Oath, and when he finished Chancellor Livingston turns to the crowd and
dramatically says, "Long live President George Washington," and the crowd
hurrahs, and it's very exciting.
[end of excerpt]
Watching the entire (1/2 hour) video is disturbing, because it was produced
for the explicit purpose of putting more religion into the presidential
inaugural exhibit, and it pretends to illustrate how concluding the
presidential oath with the phrase, SHMG, is a time-honored tradition.
The word that leaked out from the Rules Committee was that an influential
Christian lobbyist got this project initiated. Even though the Historical
Office, now realizes that there is no primary source for the statement that
George Washington said "So help me God" at his inauguration, it was said
that no one should expect the necessary corrections anytime soon. So, in
spite of the fact that the Republicans no longer control any of the
committees, this lobbyist still has access to the President, and that's the
way things work.
It also follows, as a result of the mistaken GW-said-SHMG blunder, that GW
never started this tradition. Actual recognition of this GW "tradition"
appears to be less than 50 years old. The biggest blunder in the video is
not in what was said, but what was left out. No where in the video was it
mentioned that the phrase SHMG is not included with the President's oath of
office as defined by the Constitution.
As far as the other tradition is concerned, where GW is said to have kissed
the Bible, it seems to have died out.
- Ray Soller
My comments to the above
SHMG - historical look at the Inaugural Ceremonies
Message #8754 of 8754 < Prev | Next >
Re: SHMG - historical look at the Inaugural Ceremonies
--- In HRSepCnS@yahoogroups.com, "Raymond Soller" wrote:
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has a new
video, "'So Help me God' - historical look at the Inaugural
Ceremonies 1785 - 2005," maintained by the Senate Rules Committee,
that can be viewed on their website:
www.inaugural.senate.gov/history/index.html. The video icon is in the
lower right corner of the page.
About two minutes into the video, the main narrator Beth Hahn,
Historical Editor, The Senate Historical Office, explains:
[George Washington] walks out on to the balcony. And there are
people in the streets, there's people in the windows, and the
buildings around. There [are] people on the roof. Everyone wants to
see him. They cheer when they see him. Everyone is very excited.
He is given the oath by Chancellor Robert Livingston, and when he
takes the Oath he then kisses the Bible - he says "So help me God,"
and then kisses the Bible - and those are actually two traditions that
carried on by future Presidents. Everyone has since said "So help me
God" at the end of the Oath, and when he finished Chancellor
Livingston turns to the crowd and dramatically says, "Long live
President George Washington," and the crowd hurrahs, and it's very
exciting.
[end of excerpt]
Watching the entire (1/2 hour) video is disturbing, because it was
produced for the explicit purpose of putting more religion into the
presidential inaugural exhibit, and it pretends to illustrate how
concluding the presidential oath with the phrase, SHMG, is a
time-honored tradition.
The word that leaked out from the Rules Committee was that an
influential Christian lobbyist got this project initiated. Even though
the Historical Office, now realizes that there is no primary source
for the statement that George Washington said "So help me God" at his
inauguration, it was said that no one should expect the necessary
corrections anytime soon. So, in spite of the fact that the
Republicans no longer control any of the committees, this lobbyist
still has access to the President, and that's the way things work.
I have no doubht that such a person exists and thay person probably
did and does have such influence.
What I have a problem with is why the leaker didn't name the name.
of this Christian lobbyist. What is he or she afraid that some ninja
dressed types with hand guns with silencers are going to take care of them
some night?
If they leaked that much they can leak the name. The consequences of
leaking such info isn't really less sicne the name was withheld. They
are going to be in hot water either way.
Speaking of leaking. The hurry to get info, incomplete info out there
early on alerted the opposition to this challenge to SHMG thus allowing
them to begin damage control actions.
My opinion was, is and will always be that nothing should have been
said on the SHMG front until all the research had been completed. At
that time all the fruits of that research should have been gathered
together in chronological form and placed in a fotm/forum that all could
access.
When that had been done that was the time for the article Mike
originally visioned should hae been written and published. While
some of the evidence would have been mentioned in that article that
article would have served as the vehicle for presenting the URL or
whatever was used for the entire package of the data the research
brought forth.
That would have so caught the other side off guard, it would have been
next to impossible for them to effectively counter or spin ot challenge.
Ahhhhhh well tis life
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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