As someone who has been attended many government body meetings with invocations, and is not a "nasty atheist or leftist" I disagree.  These unnecessary rituals take up the public's valuable time and are very irritating and annoying, especially when the person giving the invocation is some local pastor whom you do not respect, and whose command to pray you don't want to obey.  

People attending a government meeting of any kind should not be forced to pray - and if you think you are not being forced to pray or stand up while others pray, try sitting down next time and see how it feels to have people around you and up front glaring at you.

Assembly members who want to pray can have their own private prayer session right before the meeting - leave us in the public out of it.