Why not regulate men's private parts too?

[MrFun]

Love the trolls Senator McDougle has been dealing with.

[giblets]

I hate them.

[kentonio]

Yeah, and one of those Houses of Parliament is the House of Lords, where dozens of bishops have seats. Your country is so full of bizarre anachronisms, it's amazing you have the chutzpah to talk **** about anybody else. Bravo

Basically this boils down to the American obsession with looking at the theoretical instead of the reality. Its why your GOP politicians can seriously propose disenfranchising millions of American voters on the theory that illegals could be voting fraudulently despite the fact they arent, and people actually listen.

Britain is an incredibly secular state where people massively don't give a **** about religion. Our politicians very rarely even mention it, and despite a few archaic holdovers such as the handful of bishops in the lords it makes next to no difference to our democracy. Repeatedly mention god in a political speech here and most people will think you're a ****.

[Felch]

The Church of England exists, it is the established church of your country, and there is an actual religious requirement that the head of state be a member. It's not theoretical, it's statutory.

[Lorizael]

I think the Brits here would answer that the important person in their political system is the head of government and not the head of state.

[Felch]

Trolling has nothing to do with what's actually important.

[Lorizael]

Carry on, then.

[molly bloom]

Let me get this straight. The British public considers religion to be a private matter, one that shouldn't be a political issue, and you mock American politicians for discussing it.

'Discussing it' ? A quaint term of phrase for what right wing politicians do with their 'sacred' and 'personal' beliefs in the political arena. I've seen more decorum and modesty at January sales.

I'm not quite sure what laws you imagine the Church of England has that control the lives of non-Anglicans, but speaking as a lapsed Roman Catholic, I haven't felt the impact of any.

You ever hear the one about throwing stones in glass houses?

Yeah, weren't they the stones in the glass houses of the Land of the Free where a system of apartheid was in place until the 1960s ?

[Felch]

Fifty years ago, blacks were second class citizens. Today the United Kingdom has an established religion, and religious restrictions on the head of state.

I'm not responsible for what America did fifty years ago. But assuming that you live in a functioning democracy, you and the majority of your countrymen are responsible for the current state of affairs in Britain. When are you going to fully embrace the principle of religious liberty? Or is British democracy not all it's cracked up to be?

[molly bloom]

[QUOTE=Felch;6092947]Fifty years ago, blacks were second class citizens. /QUOTE]

Surely not in perfect America with its excellent Constitution, all written down and stuff ? How did that state of affairs come about ? And exactly how long did it go on, in that fine democracy, where all men were created equal ?

I'm not responsible for what America did fifty years ago.

I'd imagine not many Brits feel in any way responsible for the Reformation, either. That was roughly 500 years ago in England.

But assuming that you live in a functioning democracy

Seemed to be the last time I voted. Unlike in Florida a few years ago, where some people inexplicably found that they weren't allowed to vote... how peculiar. Many appeared to be African American. I'm sure that was just a, what ? A Blip ? Throwback ? Bit of colourful local tradition ?

you and the majority of your countrymen are responsible for the current state of affairs in Britain.

I am ? Henry VIII and Elizabeth Tudor didn't consult me when drawing up the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity- in the 16th Century. I suspect all Brits alive today weren't asked for their opinions on the establishment of an Anglo-Catholic monarchy or Church.

When are you going to fully embrace the principle of religious liberty?

I'll pop into the local Islamic centre and ask if they feel terribly aggrieved over the Queen being the head of the Church of England. Perhaps I should go to the local gurdwara, too, and see how some of the neighbourhood Sikhs feel. Then there's the Kingdom Hall, a stone's throw away, the Ukrainian Church, the Baptists, the Hindu mandir, the nearby R.C. convent, and a whole host of local African and Caribbean congregations and house churches. Not forgetting the house at the end of the nearby street with a community of Buddhist monks, and the house near the local library with a Hare Krishna community.

I'm sure they're all labouring under the terribly oppressive yoke of that nest of vipers, the Anglican Communion.

Or is British democracy not all it's cracked up to be?

From a country which couldn't elect the Presichimp without serious voting irregularities in the state in which his brother was governor, that's quite amusing. Sad, but quite amusing.

[Felch]

Molly is one of Apolyton's greatest performance artists!

[molly bloom]

Molly is one of Apolyton's greatest performance artists!

Oh thanks. You've warmed the cockles of my heart.

[regexcellent]

Love the trolls Senator McDonnell has been dealing with.

Senator McDonnell?

[Tupac Shakur]

Felch

[MrFun]

Senator McDonnell?

McDougle