Memeday!

Mimi of Mimi Writes has tagged me for The Band Meme. I've seen this one making the rounds and knew it was only a matter of time that I would end up doing it!

"Here's how it goes. You are about to have your own band's CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. It's fun and requires no thought at all. Go to......

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/

The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along in your own journal because it’s more amusing that way."

So, here is my band! I am not very good at editing pictures with text on them so this is as good as it will get:

I'm not tagging, as I think quite a few of us have had this one! If you haven't done it and want to come up with your own band, go to it!

So, that's one meme down and one to go.

On a more serious subject:

FranIAm had a post a few days ago about Separation of Church and State. She didn't tag me specifically, but this is an issue close to my heart, and I support First Freedom First, which sponsored this list of questions that we should be asking our candidates. I'll answer each question below (my answers in blue).

1. Leaders on the religious right often say that America is a “Christian Nation.” Do you agree with this statement? No, absolutely not. I believe that the founders of this nation believed that people of any faith, or of no faith, had every right to worship (or not) as they see fit, and that there should be no religious test for holding office.

2. Do you think Houses of Worship should be allowed to endorse political candidates and retain their tax exempt status? No, absolutely not. Houses of worship should confine their communications to religious and charitable matters. And if they do not, they should lose their tax exempt status.

3. Do you think public schools should sponsor school prayer or, as a parent, should this choice be left to me? No, absolutely not. There should be no formalized prayers in school. Children should understand that if they feel a need to pray, they can certainly do so to themselves without it being spoken aloud. Parents should have the right to expect that their children will not be exposed to prayer when they are at school. Prayer is something to be taught at home or in church.

4. Would you support a law that mandates teaching creationism in my child’s public school science classes? No, absolutely not. This is not science and I object to anyone forcing this idea onto impressionable minds. The story of the Creation can be taught in church or at home. It does not belong in schools.

5. Do you think my pharmacist should be allowed to deny me doctor-prescribed medications based on his or her religious beliefs? No, absolutely not. It is not the place of the pharmacist to decide what drugs I may take. If he or she has a problem dispensing certain drugs, then he or she should not be a pharmacist. While some may say that those who own their own pharmacies should have a right not to dispense drugs of which they disapprove, I feel pharmacies provide a service to the public and should not be allowed to decide what the public should or shouldn't be taking. Sometimes there is no other pharmacy for many miles and it would be equivalent to denying someone medication that they had been prescribed if the pharmacist refused to dispense it.

6. Will you respect the rights of those in our diverse communities of faith who deem same-gender marriage to be consistent with their religious creed? Yes, absolutely. Marriage should be available to any couple regardless of gender or orientation.

7. Should “faith-based” charities that receive public funds be allowed to discriminate against employees or applicants based on religious beliefs? No, absolutely not. If they want to discriminate, then they need to forego public funding.

8. Do you think one’s right to disbelieve in God is protected by the same laws that protect someone else’s right to believe? Yes, definitely.

9. Do you think everyone’s religious freedom needs to be protected by what Thomas Jefferson called “a wall of separation” between church and state? Yes, definitely.

10. What should guide our policies on public health and medical research: science or religion? Science should be the guiding principle behind public health and research.

Then Tengrain added these:

* Do you think Abstinence-only sex education is working in our public schools? No: I believe that unwanted pregnancies have actually risen in states that have abstinence-only sex education. Abstinence-only education is unrealistic; and teens who plan to abstain and then don't are more apt to have sex without protection than those who plan ahead for it.

* Do you think public schools should include religious study, or as a parent, should that be my choice? Absolutely not. Religion should be taught in the home or church, not in school. A study of comparative religion is OK if it just compares the belief systems across major religions for educational purposes.

* Do you think libraries should censor information? No, absolutely not!

Now, please answer these questions either here in the comments or on you own blog. It is important to ALL of us.

Then please head over to First Freedom First and sign the petition for religious freedom while you are at it too!

Thanks, Fran, for pointing this petition out to us!