Only 15.5% of Mitchell’s electorate voted yesterday in favor of building an $8-million indoor pool. But since only 28.5% of Mitchell’s electorate came to the polls, that was enough to pass the pool with a 54.3% majority.
(28.5% turnout… Hey, Aberdeen! Can we beat that next week for our big library bond vote on Tuesday?)
Conservative Mitchell contrarian Steve Sibson, who gathered signatures to refer the pool to a public vote, warns his neighbors of the moral burden they now bear:
“The 1,440 that voted in favor have to deal with the moral issue of expecting people who are not in favor to help pay for something that they don’t want to pay for themselves,” Sibson said [Evan Hendershot, “$8 Million Aquatics Facility Approved by Mitchell Voters,” Mitchell Daily Republic, 2015.12.08].
Hold that thought, Sibby.
While Mitchell’s general electorate was getting ready to take a swim, the City Council was throwing the separation of church and state into Lake Mitchell. On Monday, councilors voted 7–1 to display “In God We Trust” in the council chambers. The lone dissent came from hero of reason and constitutional law Mel Olson, who spoke up in front of a number of religious leaders to say that divisive motto does not belong in public office:
“On a day when religious intolerance has been expressed by people running for the highest office in the land, I just don’t think that we should take an action that could be viewed by people who do not share our religious beliefs as an action of intolerance,” Olson said.
…“As the mayor pointed out, we already pledge, we already pray, it makes me wonder if in fact we’re insecure of our religious beliefs that we have to say it over and over again,” Olson said [Evan Hendershot, “Council Approves Display of Motto ‘In God We Trust’,” Mitchell Daily Republic, 2015.12.08].
Olson ran into a wall of insensitive Dominionist aggression from council president Jeff Smith (after the meeting):
“It seems as though the minority tends to be loud and get their message out, so now I think it’s time for the majority to start stepping forward and relaying what they believe in,” Smith said about what he believes to be Mitchell’s religious majority [Hendershot, “Council…” 2015.12.08].
…insensitive nonsense from Baptist preacher Ben Payne:
“If we are people concerned about offense when we’re leading, we run into a situation where we never accomplish anything of consequence,” Payne said [Hendershot, “Council…” 2015.12.08].
…and insensitive cluelessness from freshman mayor Jerry Toomey:
When asked if he considered how secular Mitchell residents might react to the new display in Council Chambers, Toomey was not concerned.
“If they see a sign on the wall, don’t look at it, I guess,” Toomey said [Hendershot, “Council…” 2015.12.08].
Mitchell neighbors, Mayor Toomey has opened the door for you to attend city council meetings with all the offensive signs you can carry. If Mayor Toomey is offended, he can just not look at it.
Sure, Jerry, we can just not look at your little sign, but are you going to allow taxpayers to not pay for the city property on which you are trying to establish your religion?
I never much agreed with Mel Olson except about when it was time to start drinking heavily, but I have to say I’m on board with his stance here.
I am glad Mr. Sibby gets the option to swim in a nice new pool, but it would be even neater if they did a pool floor like that. Or at least the tiled wall behind the ladders to the high dives. or even the kiddie pool.
When the first believer in the Flying Spaghetti Monster wants space on that wall,who is going to stop him/her from putting up whatever they want? It is either all or none and since we have a seperation of state and church,it should be none.
Love the mosaic, Cory. In my mind’s eye, I can see Sibby doing the backstroke across it so he doesn’t have to look at it. And Larry and Bob in scuba gear down on the bottom with a jumbo pack of crayons.
Give it a rest Cory. This is the Christmas season when we celebrate that baby Jesus grew up to become Santa Claus. Let’s remember to put the Mas back in Christmas.
Sometimes, I have to look at the calendar to see that it is 2015. Reading what Hickey and Sibson and the rest of the freak show go on about, I would think that it is the time of the Inquisition or 1492.
El Rayo X No mas por favor
Anyone who believes this isn’t Cory’s virtuous shot across Sibby’s blogospheric bow is delusional.
We had a Catholic Deacon and Superintendent of school (Dr. Joseph Graves), a honorary Jesuit president of a Methodist university, and the CEO of a Catholic hospital promote the coveting of $7 million to fund the $8 million pool. So much for separation of church and state. Or is it ok to have public/private partnerships, collaboration, and cooperation with the local governmental bodies and the apostate false church?
The baby Jesus works in mysterious ways Mr. Sibson. Go to Cabella’s and purchase some swim wear and googles, get you some of those water wings and its off to pool land.
Sibby so if a person who just happens to reside in Mitchell and is a Buddhist Monk that is looking to use the pool for personal exercise or physical therapy for an old injury and volunteered never mentioning he or she was a Buddhist Monk during the campaign to help get this passed it crossed the line and is now a Buddhism endorsed project/conspiracy?
Sibby,
Are you going to run for term limited Senator Mike Vehle’s seat in the legislature?
Hair will have to be rinsed thoroughly before one can enter this new pool. Not in a baptismal way but just to get the stuff out of there. Public health is a government mandate because if we didn’t have governments to force this people would just not wash their hair and go into new $8,000,000 swimming pools that Mr. Sibby is on the board of.
I, for one, sure am glad Mr. Sibby is back, and Mr. Sibby glad to be back. Did you get my card, Steve?
Black jeebus looks like he is wearing a feathered headdress of one or more Native American tribes where I imagine he would be welcomed with open arms instead of armed idiots accusing him of being a Syrian Muslim terrorist.
Lynn, you missed my point. True Christians would be concerned about their violation of Mosaic Law. Do Buddhists have a similar doctrine that lines up with the Mosaic law on coveting?
I waiting for one, or perhaps both, of the political parties to ask me to run for the District 20 Senate seat. So far the Republicans has asked someone else. I haven’t heard anything out of the Democrats.
Now, Steve, you know you can’t in good conscience run for Legislature. If you run and win, then people who don’t favor you would have to pay your Legislative salary, and then you’d be guilty of coveting.
But if conscience won’t hold you back, why wait to be asked? If you want to do the job, run!
Sibby, Mosaics are bad representing Jesus Christ? They have been used by Christians since ancient times unless by your definition that they were false Christians or ancient Corporatists.
Why wait for a political party to ask you? Run as an independent Sibby! You could act as a bridge between parties.
A shudder always goes down my back whenever adherents of any religion start talking about true believers. Shades of ISIS.
Trying to wrap my head around the serendipity of Cory’s visual (a mosaic) and Sibby’s reference to the old testament laws of Moses (Mosaic). It’s my understanding that the former would be anathema to the latter, but only to the degree that the human figure is being represented. The geometric symbols would have been just fine. All of that raises Cory’s choice of visual and Lynn’s note to Steve to levels of meaning that are at once as absurd as they are profound. Wow. Welcome back Mr. Sibson.
Nick, you are right. True Islamists believe they need to kill non-believers, true Christians do not. So which one is evil?
Nick-well stated.
Sibby- Jihadists believe they need to kill. Not Islamists.
Mikeyc, Jihad is a doctrine within Islam.
Well,
Can’t say that Sibson has changed much in his absence, in just a matter of days he’s back to coveting and apostating.
Here’s what jihad is and isn’t: http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/understanding-islam/legal-rulings/5-jihad-a-misunderstood-concept-from-islam.html?start=9
…and here’s who says so:
http://islamicsupremecouncil.org/home/about-us.html
I stand corrected. ISIS believes they need to kill.
Better, Mike, thanks. :-)
ISIS believes they need to kill, because their religion dictates that.
American Christians don’t say we need to murder ISIS and Muslims, but they do it anyway.
No Roger, true Christians only want them keep out of our country.
No Steve, true Christians welcome refugees.
True Muslims kill infidels, or make them turn over their wealth, causing refugees. Based on the recent event in California, our country has allowed those true Muslims who are threatening those refugees, to come into our country. Trump is right: until we fix that we should not allow any Muslims into this country. Perhaps the entire immigration process should be put on hold. That makes more sense than banning guns. Perhaps we should take this discussion to the new thread Cory started regarding the no fly gun ban.
The Deer dude in Colorado Springs proves you wrong Mr. Sibson. All of you are a blight on civilization as a whole, like a cancer.
Perhaps we should take your delusions about Muslims out back and throw them in the dumpster where they belong, Sibby
Fleming, Sibby is a fictional character and so are all his stories. You need to read him as if he is Elmer Fudd. That’s not to say he isn’t right sometimes, or funny. But then, so is Donald Trump.
Sell Islamaphobe Trump California and he can turn it into his very own Caif-Hate.
*writes Kurtz from the depths of his dumpster fire* ^^^
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Sibson says Trump is right on blocking refugees from our country, that comment alone shows Sibson is not a Christian.
Roger, my extremely conservative Christian relatives have posted links to Bernie Sanders condemning the Trump proposal, emphasizing that
“Xenophobia and racism have no place in 21st century American politics and no place whatsoever in the mouths of those that proclaim the love of Jesus Christ.”
and
“Why are we (especially at Christmas) so willing to ignore other people’s pain and suffering because we are afraid? We are forgetting everything Jesus taught.”
Sibby,
What would you do if your house was surrounded by Syrian and Iraq refugees that just purchased or rented houses in your neighborhood? Knowing Mitchell it could happen.