2012 the 'year of the bible'?

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has decided that it wants to get in on the useless crazy bill train.  I was as shocked as you were that there was still room on said train to begin with.

In a unanimous 193-0 vote, the Pennsylvania House declared 2012 "The Year of the Bible".  No word as of yet as to whether they plan to retire this outdated book of crazy after the year has ended.

In describing House Resolution 535 (pdf), the sponsor of the bill, Representative Rick Saccone (I won't even bother mentioning what party he belongs to) states that:

“As not only Pennsylvania, but the United States, continues to face great tests and challenges, House Resolution 535 serves as a reminder that we must look to our faith in God and the Holy Scripture to provide us with the strength, wisdom and courage to conquer these great trials,”

 His statements mirror the contents of the bill itself which concludes with the line:

“[The] House of Representatives declare 2012 as the ‘Year of the Bible’ in Pennsylvania in recognition of both the formative influence of the Bible on our Commonwealth and nation and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures,”

This non-binding resolution (read: utter waste of taxpayers money) does absolutely nothing other than pander to the religious voters as well as violating the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.

To show how deluded the creators of this bill were, the bill was labeled as "noncontroversial" in its own text.  While it seems the House has agreed on this, it makes one wonder about the kind of understanding they have for Constitutional law if they found this noncontroversial.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has already responded by stating:

“Our constitution grants sovereignty not to a deity or a ‘holy book,’ but to ‘We, the People.’ There is no reference to God, the bible, the Ten Commandments or Jesus in the U.S. Constitution, just as there are no references to ‘consent of the governed,’ ‘civil liberties’ or ‘democracy’ in the bible...Those who have truly studied the bible realize that it is a moral quagmire, a behavioral grab bag, which has been used to justify automatic rule, tyranny, slavery, the degradation of women and gays, child abuse, war, atrocity and mayhem.”

The FfRF have also provided a downloadable sample letter in .pdf form for any Pennsylvania resident who wishes to contact their Representative and speak out against this idiocy.

So who will be next to introduce or even pass useless bills while on the tax payers dollar?  I cannot be sure, though I can guarantee that it will lower my respect for humanity just a little bit more.

With thanks to The Raw Story and The Friendly Atheist.