HUCKABEE'S NONSENSE OF THE DAY

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HUCKABEE'S NONSENSE OF THE DAY
ED BRAYTON, SCIENCE BLOGS - MSNBC reports on a conversation Huckabee had
with reporters on his campaign bus that included this gem:

"The Ten Commandments form the basis of most of our laws and therefore,
you know if you look through them does anybody find anything there that
would be all that objectionable? I don't think most people would if they
actually read them," he said. . .

Let's take a look at them one by one:

1. Thou shall have no other Gods before me.

Blatantly unconstitutional. . .

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of
any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me.

Also unconstitutional on free exercise grounds. Americans can make any
graven image they wish to make, and bow down to whatever god or idol
they wish.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

Unconstitutional on both freedom of religion and free speech grounds.

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy

Again, unconstitutional on free exercise grounds.

5. Honor thy father and thy mother

A good idea, in most cases, but a law requiring it would be
unconstitutional and outside the purview of government. . .

6. Thou shalt not kill

This one is obviously constitutional, and is a part of our legal system.
But it's also found in every legal system, even those that have nothing
to do with the bible or Christianity. . .

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery

Adultery is a moral wrong, but it's a private matter between
individuals.

8. Thou shalt not steal

This is the second one that is obviously constitutional, but also found
in every legal system regardless of the religious system that may have
initially spawned it. . . .

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour

Some have interpreted this to be analagous to our perjury laws, but
nothing in the text indicates that. It's talking about lying in general,
not in a legal sense during court proceedings. And while lying may be
wrong, it's not legally wrong except in specific circumstances . . .

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's

Not only unconstitutional, it would require the ability to read minds.
If coveting what your neighbor has was against the law in the US, there
would be no "keeping up with the Joneses."

http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2007/12/more_huckabee_absurdity.php

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