SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments on Thursday that the phrases violate the separation of church and state.The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected two legal challenges by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow, who claimed the references to God disrespect his religious beliefs.
"The Pledge is constitutional," Judge Carlos Bea wrote for the majority in the 2-1 ruling. "The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded."
The same court ruled in Newdow's favor in 2002 after he sued his daughter's school district for having students recite the pledge at school.
That lawsuit reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004, but the high court ruled that Newdow lacked the legal standing to file the suit because he didn't have custody of his daughter, on whose behalf he brought the case.
So Newdow, who is a doctor and lawyer, filed an identical challenge on behalf of other parents who objected to the recitation of the pledge at school. In 2005, a federal judge in Sacramento decided in Newdow's favor, ruling that the pledge was unconstitutional.
"I want to be treated equally," Newdow said when he argued the case before the 9th Circuit in December 2007. He added that supporters of the phrase "want to have their religious views espoused by the government."
In a separate 3-0 ruling Thursday, the appeals court upheld the inscription of the national motto "In God We Trust" on coins and currency, saying that the phrase is ceremonial and patriotic, not religious.
Reached on his cell phone, Newdow said he hadn't been aware that the appeals court had ruled against him Thursday.
"Oh man, what a bummer," he said.
Newdow said he would comment further after he had read the decisions.
Newdow - what a satanist.
ReplyDeleteWas this the 9th Circus??? I can't believe it. Thanks for sharing the good news!
ReplyDeleteGOD forbid anyone should have to read the word GOD.
ReplyDeleteHere's a great article. Really sums up Comrade FAILk:
Daily Gut: Slime Is Almost Always Green
by Greg Gutfeld
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2010/03/11/daily-gut-slime-is-almost-always-green/
Many moons ago I wrote about how phony environmentalists use their so-called ethical beliefs to justify arrogant and asinine behavior. Examples abound: a socialite rails against plastic bags, as she boards her private jet to eat bat testicles with a shaman. An angry, goateed celebrity rails against neocon chickenhawks, days before being arrested for domestic abuse. A scabby rock star condemns us for not giving enough to the poor, as he passes chlamydia around like a snack tray.
Well, now research has backed up what we already knew: environmentalism is just a shield for jackasses to act more jackassy.
In a University of Toronto study, students were asked either to buy eco-friendly products or their conventional counterparts. For the green buyers, their good behavior (gauged by a number of tests) dramatically dropped. They cheated on games, lied to the researchers in order to win cash, and in an honor system designed to pay everyone – the greenies stole six times more than the eco-less consumers.
Is he really a satanist?
ReplyDeleteGreat news! It's nice to hear of a ruling with common sense!
ReplyDeleteYes, lets uphold the long history of the words "under God". Its what the founder wanted when they wrote the pledge right???
ReplyDeleteActually most of the boomers can remember a time when those words were not part of the pledge. But hey who cares, its all some socialist plot to indoctrinate your children.
Thais is the best part, seeing the right fight their butts off to protect a pledge driven from a socialists view of a Utopian world.
Where is Alanis Morrisette when you need her. "isn't it ironic, don't cha think?"
What a Surprize From the 9th District! One Could Say its a Miricle! Could Become Another "TRUTHER" Thingy!
ReplyDeleteIf JoeC Likes it it Must Be GOOD!
JoeC is technically correct.
ReplyDeleteLew Rockwell - Pledge
Seems as thought it's had the opposite affect it's socialist founders envisioned. The pledgers are conservative, states rights people and the ones who hate the pledge are the leftists.
The best laid plans of mice and men...
Joe why do you think it is Ok for the less then 10% of Americans that don't believe in God dictate his existence in our nation? I thought you were for democracy? Sorry Joe i know you world is crashing down on ya but just try not to go too anti-God on us.
ReplyDeleteThe pledge originated in the late 1800s and "Under GOD" was added during the Eisenhower administration during an anti-communist period (remember Tailgunner Joe?)when those "Liberal Fools" were communists. Now, they're just "Liberal Fools." It is like Newdow said, "Oh man, what a bummer!"
ReplyDeleteChris, i don't care about the pledge but the fact that you try to force "God" on those that want religious freedom smacks of religious persecution and Islamic sharia style rules. You understand that by trying to force the rest of the 10 percent into acknowledging your beliefs your not much better than Muslim countries that do the same.
ReplyDeleteI'd like you to think about it and be honest. first you want to advance your religion and things like prayer in school and the words in the pledge do just that. second you understand the concept that this pledge was started as a forced indoctrination. To make kids more patriotic. That is some deep USSR type stuff there brother and you know it.
In a truly free country you don't teach kids to learn patriotism and how wonderfully free a nation is by forcing things on them. You don't suspend them from school for not saying it, or for challenging the words of it.You don't have to demand that they do something till its ingrained in their subconscious.
You allow them to challenge and grow with in reason by themselves. if they refuse to say it because they feel Gays don't have the same rights that's great, they have a better understanding of our freedoms then most of us have. But society wants to punish them, force them and that doesn't seem like the country we espouse to be.
AL, still going under the misguided notion that "truthers" are liberals i see. Why is it your always a a day late and a dollar short on understanding how and what groups believe in what?
ReplyDeleteReligious persecution Joe? Really?? It's not like the 4% of nonbelieves don't try to make the rest of us denigh God had anything to do with our lives and country. You liberals want to push your Mother Earth religion while at the same time baning Christmas and Christian history. You liberals are all about "me,me,me". Since 78% of Americans believe they are Christian and you believe in a democracy rather then a Republic what are you complaining about? Why do you want it both ways? You liberals are so self obsorbed you don't even realize their are others outside of you.
ReplyDeleteWith Liberals You Have to Be A Day Late And Dollar Short To Keep Up With Them!
ReplyDeleteJust My OPINION JoeC, Sorta like Yours Some RIGHT Some Not!
Religion and Non Believers, Believe Your Winning that ONE in Public Places JoeC so Be Happy!
JoeC Said:
ReplyDeletethe fact that you try to force "God" on those that want religious freedom smacks of religious persecution and Islamic sharia style rules.
... trying to force the rest of the 10 percent into acknowledging your beliefs your not much better than Muslim countries that do the same. "
Joe has obviously never been to a Muslim country, especially not chop chop square in Riyadh.
Many Americans enjoy a blissful ignorance here in the greatest country on God's green earth.
We have Muslims on a global rampage of head cutting, clitorectomies, blowing things up and killing innocent people. All liberals can do is scream about rightwing Christians and Jewish Zionists.
Let some air in and look around, Joe, the fumes are getting to you...
Chris, do we have to go into that stupid rightwing talking point about Representative Democracy vs. Republic thing again? Besides i didn't use the word "DEMOCRACY" in my reply to you, so where did that come from?
ReplyDeleteLol that part about being self-absorbed is funny. I'm not the party that talks about "real america" and self absorbed shit like that.
And funny that the Me Decade was the 80's with 2 count em 2 republican presidents.
al, having an opinion is one thing, spreading untruths is another. When the evidence points to something that you refuse to believe in and you continue to push the same ole lies its not an opinion. Here just to help you out...
ReplyDeleteMichelle Malkin on conservative Truthers...
"Unfortunately for Ron Paul and his hysterical minions, do not cleanse him of his Truther-y stain. Allah, Ace, and Dean Barnett all plumbed Paul’s conspiratorial depths–including Bircher-era/Rosie O’Donnell-esque claims that America is poised to manufacture a Gulf of Tonkin incident to go to war with Iran and his repeat appearances on the radio show of bottom-feeding 9/11 conspiracist Alex Jones.
About 90 percent of the hate mail I’ve received supporting Ron Paul comes from Truther nuts. Why is that?"
Conservative candidate for texas republican Gov nomination Debra Medina...
About two weeks ago, Medina was asked during an appearance on Glenn Beck's radio show whether she believed in 9/11 conspiracy theories. "I think some very good questions have been raised in that regard, there are some very good arguments and I think the American people have not seen all the evidence there, so I have not taken a position on that," said Medina.
so good luck with your opinions.
Silverfiddle,
ReplyDeleteCan we stay away from the dark side of the moon style arguments and discuss what i said in the context of what i said, and not things that do not apply.
Pull your head out of Faux news lap and use it for awhile instead of just your lips...
joe i dont belive in theories! they are in the eye of the beholder FACTS are not! i may have used wide brush with "Truthers" and their ideology but either way theories are just that!
ReplyDelete911 theoroies,pearl harbor theories, JFK theories "magic bullet" theories! for all that say "conspiracy" there are those that say No! without "FACT" rest is inmaterial and speculative! shoulda coulda and woulda Dont count to me!
when evaluating do not all above people who are evaluating from both sides have opinions! which ones are lieing joe, you tell me. looks like different opinons and all think there right!
ISLAMABAD - Terrorists armed with grenades attacked the offices of a Christian aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six employees and wounding several others, police and the organization said.
ReplyDeleteTerrorists have killed other people working for foreign aid groups in Pakistan and issued statements saying such organizations were working against Islam, greatly hampering efforts to raise living standards in the desperately poor region. Many groups have scaled down operations in the northwest or pulled out altogether.
The attack took place in Ogi, a small town in Mansehra district, which was badly hit by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
"It was a brutal and senseless attack," said Dean Owen, World Vision spokesman in Seattle, Washington. "It was completely unexpected, unannounced and unprovoked."
Another spokesman said the group had suspended operations across Pakistan as a result of the attack.
Two women were among the six dead, said local police chief Sajid Khan. Four people were wounded.
He said about 10 gunmen took part in the raid.
"They went inside, opened fire indiscriminately and then threw grenades before fleeing," said Khan.
Al Qaeda, the Taliban and allied groups are strong in northwestern Pakistan, but Mansehra lies outside the tribal belt next to Afghanistan where the militants have their main bases and is relatively peacefully.
Islamist militants see foreign aid groups and local outfits that receive international funds as a challenge to their authority in regions under their influence. The organizations often employ women and support female rights initiatives, further angering the extremists.
Many foreign aid groups set up offices in Mansehra after the 2005 earthquake, which killed about 80,000 people.
In 2008, militants there killed four Pakistanis working for Plan International, a British-based charity that mainly helps children.
World Vision is one of the world's largest and well-funded Christian aid groups. It was founded 60 years ago in the United States.
Hey Joe, Pull your head out of your stereotypes. I don't watch fox news.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe in government sponsored prayer or "religion" being taught in public school.
Now, if a valedictorian in her graduation speech wants to invoke God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, the druid forest fairy or even Satan himself, she has the right to do so. Anyone prohibiting it has violated her 2nd Amendment rights.
So tell us what the penalty for not saying the pledge is? Gulag? a fine? How does this harm the freedom and liberty of a Godless lefty? Please elaborate, your argument was a little thin.
Silverfiddle i just used a pejorative to respond to your talk about my breathing fumes.
ReplyDeletethin, lol... did you know there was a Supreme Court decision concerning the refusal to?
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
But heres what happens.....
May 10th 2008 Three small-town eighth-graders in Minnesota were suspended by their principal for not standing Thursday morning for the Pledge of Allegiance.
2010 A middle school teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland, will have to apologize to a 13-year-old student after yelling at her and having her escorted out of class by school police when the student refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Dispite the fact that the Surpeme court set the precendent that States do not have the right to force the pledge these things continue.
Joe, those are pretty weak examples though. What ultimately happened in the case in Minnesota? I would be interested in hearing what happened to the principal. I see the teacher will have to apologize. I would assume that (s)he received that weak-assed punishment because of the teacher's union. Why wasn't that teacher canned or more severely reprimanded?
ReplyDeleteSilverfiddle is right on this one, nobody is forced to say the word "God", except by overzealous jack-offs. Good luck outlawing idiots! LOL
Just a little aside: Having "God" on coins is a great argument for allowing competitive currencies, and breaking the monopoly on the Federal Reserve printing money.
"Dispite the fact that the Surpeme court set the precendent that States do not have the right to force the pledge these things continue."
ReplyDeleteAnd the people violating the students' rights to not say the pledge are punished. You make my point.
Thanks!
Silverfiddle, it doesn't harm anyone, but it shouldn't be there. It was placed there at the request of christians and therefore it is eatblishing a religion. Its just wrong.
ReplyDeleteOK Joe, now you have a valid point, but the 9th Circus disagrees with you. They did not see this as "establishing a religion."
ReplyDeleteNo one is compelling you to believe anything or sign any oaths in order to get a job or receive government benefits or to be treated equal under the law.
You can refuse to say the pledge and you can spend money all the while proudly and fearlessly proclaiming your unbelief in The Father in Heaven.
America is a beautiful country. In fact, as Michael Medved says, it's the greatest country on God's green earth!