The Freedom From Religion Foundation

Alabama governor, Auburn coaches under fire after religious gathering

FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Wed, September 27, 2023

Head coach Hugh Freeze of the Auburn Tigers prior to their game against the Samford Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 16, 2023 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

AUBURN, Ala. - A Wisconsin-based group of "atheists, agnostics and skeptics" are sending a warning to several Auburn University coaches affiliated with "Unite Auburn."

On Sept. 12, a Christian praise event drew several thousand to Neville Arena on the university's campus less than 25 miles from the Georgia line. About 200 people were baptized following the event.

Atheist group targets Auburn after religious event

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling for all religious activities associated with athletic programs at the university to cease. The foundation says the event and other religious-associated activities violate the Constitution. They go on to say this is not the first time.

"Auburn University is a public university, not a religious one. It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for university employees to use their university position to organize, promote or participate in a religious worship event," FFRF staff attorney Chris Line writes to Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts. "These ongoing and repeated constitutional violations at the university create a coercive environment that excludes those students who don’t subscribe to the Christian views being pushed onto players by their coaches."

Lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, John Pokluda, spoke to the crowd of nearly 4,000. The event also featured Atlanta-based Christian worship group Passion Music and comments from Christian podcaster and bestselling author Jennie Allen.

Following the event, Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze was seen baptizing a player. Basketball coach Bruce Pearl and baseball coach Butch Thompson also attended the event.

The foundation says not only is it unconstitutional, but it is highly inappropriate for "public school employees to direct students to partake in religious activities, or to participate in the religious activities of their students."

"The abuse of power displayed by these coaches shows that Auburn hasn’t changed one bit since we published our 2015 report," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "As coaches, their responsibility lies in guidance on the field, not guiding these students to pews. They should start by firing the team chaplains, whose very presence signals that Auburn University has an inappropriate relationship with Christian evangelists."

Auburn coach Freeze defends ‘Unite Auburn’ event

However, Pearl defended his actions in a report by "The Observer," a local newspaper. He says the after years of hosting a similar event called "Ignite," he, his wife Brandy as well as Chad and Tonya Prewett wanted to do something to help organize the students who were of Christian faith.

"Chad and Tonya Prewett are the ones who absolutely ran with this," Pearl told the local publication. "The idea is simply to have a night of worship, to have two incredible speakers and to allow the students to want to have a closer connection both to God, as well as in the church community."

Following the event, about half the crowd paraded to the Auburn University Ag Heritage Park for baptisms.

Gov. Kay Ivey responds to foundation’s complaints

The governor of Alabama responded to the attack by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Gov. Kay Ivey took to X, formerly Twitter, to write:

"I am proud to stand in support of religious liberty at Snead State Community College and Auburn University.

"As governor, I can assure you Alabama will never be intimidated by out-of-state interest groups dedicated to destroying our nation’s religious heritage."

Gov. Ivey also released a letter she sent to the foundation which calls their complaints about after-hours worship service "misleading and misguided."

"Here in Alabama, we stand with President Whitmore; Coaches Freeze, Pearl, and Thompson; and countless other Alabamians who seek to be true to themselves—and to God—as they live out their lives and seek to do their jobs to the best of their abilities."

Gov. Ivey argued that removing faith from everyday lives is a greater violation.

She also reminded the foundation of the state’s motto: "We dare defend our rights."

"As governor, I assure you that we will not be intimidated by out-of-state interest groups dedicated to destroying our nation’s religious heritage," she wrote in closing.

Atheist group say Gov. Ivey’s supports ‘state-sponsored religious activities’

The Freedom from Religion Foundation calls Gov. Kay Ivey’s rebuke of their complaints "constitutionally off the mark."

The foundation, in a release shortly after Gov. Ivey’s letter in response to the "Unite Auburn" event, wanted to make clear that 20% of Alabamans say they are not religious.

"You are indeed the governor of nonreligious Alabamians and religious minorities, as well as the majority who identify as Christian in some way," FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor write to her


Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey listens to former U.S. President Donald Trump speak during the Alabama Republican Party’s 2023 Summer meeting at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel on August 4, 2023 in Montgomery, Alabama.

 (Photo by Julie Bennett/Getty Images)

The organization admonished Gov. Ivey for using her platform in voicing support for the event.

"University administrators and coaches are free to express their religious beliefs in their private capacity outside of their role as public officials," FFRF writes. "But it is coercive, inappropriate and unconstitutional for them to push their personal religious beliefs on others, particularly students or subordinates, while serving in their official capacity as government officials."

The foundation referred to Article 1 of the Alabama Constitution, which states:

"[T]hat no religion shall be established by law; that no preference shall be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship; that no one shall be compelled by law to attend any place of worship …"

The group argues the religious heritage to which Ivey referred in her letter addressed to them was not part of the thinking when establishing the U.S. Constitution.

"You took an oath of office to ‘support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the state of Alabama,’ not to promote ‘worship,’ to disseminate your personal religious beliefs through your office or to otherwise evangelize," FFRF’s letter reminds the governor in concluding. "Please uphold that oath."

This story is being reported out of Atlanta

Everything About Trump’s Michigan Speech Was a Stunt—Including the Workers
Tori Otten

THE NEW REPUBLIC
Thu, September 28, 2023

Donald Trump made a big show of appealing to union autoworkers at a campaign event in Michigan, but it turns out that none may have even attended.

Trump opted to give a speech Wednesday night at Drake Enterprises, a nonunion factory, instead of participating in the Republican debate. Drake management had invited him to appear, and the United Auto Workers union—which is currently on strike—does not represent the Drake workforce. About 400 to 500 people attended the speech, even though Drake only employs about 150, The Detroit News reported.

It’s unclear how many union workers, or even autoworkers, attended Trump’s speech. One person held a sign that said “union members for Trump” but told reporter Craig Mauger she wasn’t in the union. Another person held a sign that said “auto workers for Trump” but admitted he wasn’t an autoworker.

Undeterred, Trump said he supports the ongoing UAW strike for fair wages but warned that the “current negotiations don’t mean as much as you think.”

The real danger, he insisted, is electric vehicles. He described the transition from gas engines to electric as “a transition to hell” and said the auto industry “is being assassinated.”

His speech stands in stark contrast to the approach of Joe Biden, who on Tuesday became the first sitting U.S. president to ever join a picket line.

Trump is no stranger to filling a room with fake supporters. Former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski admitted in 2021 that they had paid actors to attend Trump’s first campaign launch in 2015.

John Fetterman Has A 1-Meme Response After Senate Passes Formal Dress Code

Ben Blanchet
Updated Thu, September 28, 2023 

Hoodie-loving Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) let a photo of Kevin James sum up his reaction to the Senate unanimously passing a formal dress code on Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) relaxed the Senate’s voluntary dress code last week, easing a policy that called on senators to wear business attire or coats in the upper chamber.

The relaxed policy sparked GOP backlash and allowed Fetterman, who has rocked shorts and hoodies at the Capitol since his return to work in April, to wear casual attire on the Senate floor.

The formal dress code resolution came from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).

Fetterman, who often votes by popping his head through the doorway of the Senate, responded to the formal dress code requirement with a meme of the “King of Queens” actor smirking with his hands in his pockets.

The “King of Queens” promotional image, which has gone viral over the past week, features James on the set of the hit sitcom and is “often paired with captions about being confident and cheeky,” according to KnowYourMeme.

The meme has since grabbed the attention of “King of Queens” star Leah Remini as well as James, who seemingly quipped that he’s “gearing up” for a “Double Hands In The Pocket” stand-up tour.

Schumer on Wednesday also responded to the dress code passage.

“Though we’ve never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel as though formalizing one is the right path forward,” he said.

“I deeply appreciate Senator Fetterman working with me to come to an agreement that we all find acceptable, and of course I appreciate Sen. Manchin and Sen. Romney’s leadership on this issue.”

SCHADENFREUDE

Star GOP Witness Immediately Pours Cold Water on Biden Impeachment

Josh Fiallo

DAILY BEAST
Thu, September 28, 2023 

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Republicans’ long-shot attempt to impeach President Joe Biden got off to a rocky start Thursday, with their star witness, legal expert Jonathan Turley, outright saying he doesn’t see any evidence to support impeachment.

“I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” he testified.

Turley, a Fox News legal analyst and D.C. lawyer who argued against Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment, was called on by House Republicans to testify in the first hearing of an inquiry into whether Biden should be impeached. Republicans have been desperately searching for evidence of wrongdoing since well before Biden was elected, and the inquiry gives them the ability to obtain materials like bank records.

While he conceded there was no evidence to support impeachment, Turley did say that he believed the House had “passed the threshold” for holding an inquiry. He speculated that information could emerge if an official impeachment inquiry was launched. This, he said, should be enough for Republicans to launch an official probe.

The less-than-convincing comment was seized on by the Biden campaign, which shared a video of the quote to its social channels. And Turley’s comment clearly irked some GOP officials, one of whom reportedly told CNN that Thursday’s hearing was an “unmitigated disaster.”

“You want witnesses that make your case,” the unnamed Republican told CNN. “Picking witnesses that refute House Republicans' arguments for impeachment is mind-blowing.”

Turley wasn’t the only GOP witness to say there’s no evidence to support articles of impeachment. Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant called on by Republicans, said, “I am not here today to even suggest that there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing. In my opinion, more information needs to be gathered and assessed before I would make such an assessment.”

Dubinsky said there was a “smokescreen” surrounding the finances of Hunter Biden—who is not a government employee—that needed to be uncovered before an impeachment decision could be reached. Turley agreed, saying he’d vote against impeachment if it was his job to make a decision based on the evidence they have today.

Republican’s decision to call Turley as their first witness appeared to irk Steve Bannon, the ex-Trump adviser and conservative pundit, who called out House members for not vetting Turley enough. Speaking on Real America’s Voice, Bannon, citing Turley’s doubts about impeachable evidence, said “that’s maybe not a witness I call initially to lay out the case.”

“Why don’t we maybe we bring him in in a couple of weeks,” Bannon said, insinuating Republicans should have chosen someone who would have spoken harsher on Biden. “Maybe we don’t start with him. It’s just an idea.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) flamed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) over the apparent witness gaffe, mocking him with Bannon’s comments.

“What a day we are having here,” said a laughing Moskowitz. “I mean, listen, as a former director of emergency management, I know a disaster when I see one. I mean, if you don’t believe me, just ask Steve Bannon. Your guy just went on and said perhaps the Republicans shouldn’t have started with a witness—talking about Professor Turley—who was going to say right off the bat that there wasn’t an impeachable offense.”

Impeachment talks have swirled for nearly a year, with a cohort of Republicans centering their claims around Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings and so-far-unsubstantiated suspicions that his father engaged in corruption and abuse of public office.

Earlier this year, a former business associate of Hunter’s told House Republicans in a closed-door interview that Hunter often sold “the illusion of access to his father” and often spoke to his dad during business meetings. But Devon Archer said those conversations were about but trivial matters and he was “not aware of any” wrongdoing by the president.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) tried to have that latter part of Archer’s testimony entered into the record on Thursday as proof that Biden didn’t personally meddle in, or benefit from, his son’s business dealings. But Comer, who is leading the inquiry along with Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Jason Smith (R-MO), blocked the effort.

It prompted Goldman and Comer to get into a heated argument, yelling at and interrupting each other for nearly five minutes until Comer moved on to the next line of questioning.

Even GOP Senators Are Clowning on McCarthy’s Biden Impeachment Inquiry

The testy interaction was one of many on Thursday. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Democrats’ key witness, Michael Gerhardt, also sparred when McClain took issue with Gerhardt’s comparison of Hunter Biden’s federal gun and tax charges to that of a speeding ticket that shouldn’t involve his father.

Instead, McClain likened Hunter’s alleged crimes to that of a murder and insinuated his father could have been an accomplice—despite zero evidence.

“If a criminal pulls a trigger for a murder, he’s guilty, right?” McClain said to Gerhardt. “But don’t you also agree with me if somebody ordered that hit, we would also charge him, too?”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) pointed to Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was given a plum White House job and later made a reported $2 billion business deal with Saudi Arabia, as proof that a president’s relatives can make business deals separate from the office of the president.

“Would it be fair to attribute all of that to Donald Trump? Because it’s his son-in-law? No, not without any evidence,” Raskin said. “The principle of American law is that people are responsible for their own conduct and not the conduct of their adult children.”

Raskin grilled Republicans for concocting what he claimed is a phony inquiry based on lies peddled by Trump and Rudy Giuliani in the last election cycle.

“If Republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today,” he said. “They’ve got nothing on President Joe Biden. All they can do is return to the thoroughly demolished lie that Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump launched five years ago.”

GOP’s Own Impeachment Witnesses Admit They Can’t Offer Evidence of Biden Crimes

Nikki McCann Ramirez
Thu, September 28, 2023

As a government shutdown that could affect millions of Americans looms over Congress, House Republicans are busy launching their impeachment inquiry circus against President Joe Biden.

On Thursday, the House Oversight Committee held its first hearing of their official impeachment inquiry investigation of as-yet-unproven allegations of “abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption,” by President Biden.

The GOP invited three witnesses to testify before the committee: Justice Department official Eileen O’Connor, law professor Jonathan Turley, and forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky.

If Republicans were looking for a bombshell first hearing, they didn’t get it. All three witnesses agreed that they would not be presenting “any first-hand witness account of crimes committed by the president of the United States.”

Turley, who is also a legal analyst for Fox News, went so far as to say that despite generally supporting the inquiry, he does “not believe the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” against the president.

Dubinsky emphasized that he was not present at the hearing “to even suggest that there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing,” adding that in his opinion“more information needs to be gathered and assessed before I would make such an assessment.”

O’Connor, stated that she feels the inquiry is justified, but affirmed when asked that she was not a material witness and had no evidence to provide to the committee.

Democrats on the committee ripped the GOP in response.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the spectacle an “embarrassment,” and pointed to the fact that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had circumvented a floor vote authorizing the inquiry, a vote that has typically been taken in past impeachment proceedings before moving forward with public hearings.

Ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) shared her sentiment. “They don’t have the votes because dozens of Republicans recognize what a futile and absurd process this is,” he said.

“They present us no basis [for impeachment] at all today, even after eight months of investigation. They invited three witnesses to testify today, not one of them an eyewitness to a presidential crime of any kind. Not one of them is a direct fact witness about any of the events related to Ukraine and Burisma. If the Republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol they would be presenting it today. But they’ve got nothing on Joe Biden.”

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) sparred with Chairman Comer when he declared that “these witnesses are not giving any basis [for this hearing].” Comer disagreed, cutting Frost off, but the Democrat persisted. “These witnesses are not giving any answers,” he exclaimed. “They’re just asking more questions.”

Despite how Comer may see it, Republicans on and off the Hill are already recognizing how badly the hearing flopped. According to CNN, one GOP insider called the display an “unmitigated disaster.”

“You want witnesses that make your case. Picking witnesses that refute House Republicans’ arguments for impeachment is mind-blowing,” the anonymous source said.

Fox News, Republican’s primary propaganda outfit, tried to minimize the damage, cutting away from the proceedings and allowing anchors to inject their own spin during Democrats’ speaking time, and resuming the direct feed during Republican testimony.

Even the Biden administration signaled that they had no concerns over the proceedings. In a statement, the White House wrote that the government was hours away from shutting down “because of extreme House Republicans’ chaos and inability to govern.”

“The consequences for the American people will be very damaging — from lost jobs, to troops working without pay, to jeopardizing important efforts to fight fentanyl, deliver disaster relief, provide food assistance, and more,” the White House added. “Nothing can distract from that.”

Should House Republicans not reach a funding deal before 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, the government will enter a shutdown.

Rolling Stone

Dem Congresswoman: ‘Little Hands’ of Trump All Over ‘Sham Impeachment’

Justin Baragona

DAILY BEAST
Thu, September 28, 2023 

C-SPAN

The House GOP’s first impeachment inquiry hearing got off to a rocky start on Thursday, as even the Republicans’ witnesses conceded there wasn’t enough evidence yet to support impeaching President Joe Biden.

Besides pointing out that Republicans had yet to provide any “smoking gun” linking the president to any criminal wrongdoing when it came to his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, Democrats also repeatedly called out their GOP colleagues for doing the ex-president Donald Trump’s bidding with the “sham impeachment.”

And they also weren’t above doing a bit of trolling of the former president, which included bringing up the one insult that really gets under his skin.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) explicitly made this point during her line of questioning on Thursday afternoon. Armed with props, the lawmaker noted that the twice-impeached former president has taken to his social media accounts to demand that Republicans impeach his successor.

“We know that Donald Trump has called for this impeachment inquiry because we have the direct evidence from his own social. You can see it right here,” Stansbury exclaimed while a staffer held up a large image of a Truth Social post. “He says impeach!”

Adding that The New York Times has reported that members of the House Oversight Committee have been “directly coordinating” with Trump and “briefing” him on the inquiry, Stansbury said the ex-president has also urged them to support a government shutdown.

“We also know that if Donald Trump does not get his way, he wants his loyalists to shut down the government. How do we know that?” Stansbury declared. “Because he posted it, right here on his social media. And his loyalists in this committee, who are doing his bidding for him today, retweeted it!”

With a staffer holding up another image of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sharing Trump’s call for a shutdown, the congresswoman continued: “In fact, it actually says right here, the reason they want to defund the government and impeach is because this is the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me.”

Claiming that “this is not a serious inquiry,” the New Mexico Democrat added that “the witnesses here don’t even believe there is enough evidence to impeach” before taking a personal swipe at the former president.

“We see the long arm—but little hands—of Mr. Donald Trump, whose fingerprints are all over this hearing and this sham impeachment,” she concluded. “We know that the American people are smart, they will not be fooled by what is happening here today, especially as they shut the government down in two days with catastrophic impacts for our communities.”

LIVE UPDATES

Biden impeachment: GOP’s own witnesses contradict main claims in ‘disaster’ first hearing (yahoo.com)

Ocasio-Cortez: Christie remarks about 

DR. Jill Biden ‘disgusting, misogynistic’

GOP HATES PUBLIC EDUCATION
Julia Mueller
Thu, September 28, 2023 



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie for “disgusting, misogynistic” remarks about first lady Jill Biden during the second GOP debate on Wednesday night.

“It’s disgusting, misogynistic, and if Republicans want to continue pissing off an entire nation of women, please be my guest. We’ll see you at the ballot box,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

Christie during the debate had blasted President Biden for “sleeping with a member of the teachers unions,” arguing the president wouldn’t take on teachers unions because of his wife’s status.

Asked on “CNN This Morning” why he made the remark, the former New Jersey governor said the first lady is “a radical advocate for the worst in the teachers union” and said he brought it up because “no one else is willing to say it.”


He responded to the congresswoman’s criticism by stressing he’s “standing by the wording,” and knocked Ocasio-Cortez as a “hypocrite.”

“Let her accuse me of whatever she wants. When you look at the kind of hypocrite that she is, the kind of things that she does and lives her life as, as opposed to what comes out of her mouth. Please, I’d be happy to be accused of anything by AOC,” Christie said.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, also on the Simi Valley debate stage on Wednesday night, referenced Christie’s comment about the president’s wife later in the event.

“My wife isn’t a member of the teachers union, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure,” Pence said.


Christie takes swipe at  DR. Jill Biden during debate

Julia Manchester
Wed, September 27, 2023



Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took a swipe at first lady Jill Biden’s status as a teachers union member at the GOP debate Wednesday.

“This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country,” Christie said. “Randi Weingarten and her crew, they are absolutely strangling — they are taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids.”

“And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers unions, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day. They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for their students to be the best they can be.”

“A president of the United States has to take on the teachers union. I did it in New Jersey, and I will do it as president of the United States.”

The comments came during a portion of the debate that was focused on education. Later in the debate, former Vice President Mike Pence referenced Christie’s comment about the president’s wife.

“My wife isn’t a member of the teachers union, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure,” Pence said.

The first lady is a member of the National Education Association. Biden himself has called himself the most pro-union president and attended the United Auto Workers picket line Tuesday.


Christie dismisses criticism of debate swipe about DR. Jill Biden

Lauren Sforza
Thu, September 28, 2023 



GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie is dismissing criticism of his jab at first lady Jill Biden in Wednesday’s presidential debate.

When asked why he took aim at the first lady, Christie pointed to a recent book put out about President Biden. It details conversations the president supposedly had with Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers.

“It talks very, very specifically about how Joe Biden told Randi Weingarten, ‘I told you, you’d have an advocate here in the White House for you, starting on day one, when they moved into the White House,’” Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said on CNN. “That’s the history. Joe Biden has been a radical advocate for the worst in the teachers union.”

“And that’s why I brought it up because no one else is willing to,” he added. “No one else is willing to say it.”

Christie continued, arguing that Biden was advocating for “the worst” by allowing school lockdowns to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after saying “he would have them open within 100 days of his presidency.”

“He didn’t do that because of the pressure from his wife and from Randi Weingarten,” he argued.

During the debate Wednesday night, Christie blasted teachers’ unions by claiming they control the schools, instead of the public. He pointed to the first lady, who serves as a professor and a member of the teachers union, as the reason.

“This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country,” the former governor said. “Randi Weingarten and her crew are absolutely strangling — they’re taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids.”

“And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away from the teachers union,” Christie added. “Every day, they have an advocate inside the White House — every day, for the worst of their teachers, not for our students to be the best they can be.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ripped Christie’s jab as “disgusting” and “misogynistic,” saying “if Republicans want to continue pissing off an entire nation of women, please be my guest. We’ll see you at the ballot box.”

When asked about the congresswoman’s criticism, Christie again dismissed it and called her a “hypocrite.” He said he is “standing by the wording,” noting that Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism is “probably the highlight of my day so far.”