Tony Bennett Is Still Wrong
June 26th, 2002 - 1:45 pm
Just yesterday I wrote about some of the nice things I’ll always miss about San Francisco.
This ain’t one of’em.
Just yesterday I wrote about some of the nice things I’ll always miss about San Francisco.
This ain’t one of’em.
The good old 9th Circuit. Most overturned circuit in the system. Sheesh, what a bunch of, of er, of Californians. I just wish they would hurry up and get a U.S. Circuit Court going for the Pacific Northwest. That way we here in Washington state would no longer have to be subject to the bizarre justice meted out by the Nutty Ninth.
Don’t worry, Dave – we all know that the 9th Circuit court is all liberal nutcases anyway – and there are several more of those wandering around California (no offense, Steve). It’s very sad that the atmosphere of political correctness has given every whiner in this country the implied right to take the offense against them to court. Besides, the “judges” (and I use the term loosely) on the 9th Circuit court don’t seem to know the law, really, or it’s original intent. As we all know, the church has a great deal more to fear from the government than the government has to fear from the church…
The addition of the words “under God” in 1954 was due to a campaign by the Knights of Columbus during the McCarthy era. The KoC being Catholic, the god in question is most definitely a Christian god (if intent counts for anything).
The pledge as currently worded is unconstitutional under the Lemon test and the Endorsement test. The only ground it might have to stand on is with the Coercion test (which would vary on a school district basis, I would imagine).
As for it being a matter of PC, I guarantee you that if the pledge read “one nation, under Binky the Magic Space Clown”, that there would be a lot of Christian “whiners” (as you call them) demanding it be removed. However, to atheists, many an agnostic, and people of other religions, the Christian god might as well be Binky.
Personally, I don’t care what deity you believe in – but let’s keep the government secular.
Just my two godless heathen cents. And speaking of that, next stop: U.S. currency!
I don’t want to sound offensive but if the very same people who have such a passion for keeping the word ‘God’ out of school, parlayed some of that passion to actually IMPROVING public schools, many people wouldn’t care.
This decision is being celebrated as a ‘victory’ by some, but their kids still probably can’t add 2+2.
Try as I might, I just can’t get worked up over this.
The 9th acted in their usual idiotic manner with their decision. But the Sacramento atheists who brough the suit were idiots, too.
Life is complex, messy, and not always nice. Sometimes we have to take an elbow to the ribs.
How about a new social compact. I won’t make fun of your lousy car if you won’t make fun of my interesting collection of ties.
And easy on the lawsuits, OK?
Here’s a question: it only says that Congress shall make no law re: religion. Why can’t a state legislature say “screw you guys, we’re worshipping Mithra and Mothra, and putting the god back in Godzilla” or, I suppose, adding the Nicene Creed to the school curriculum?
It used to be that the state legislatures could do that, at least until the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified. The Supreme Court says that the Fourteenth’s Due Process Clause makes First Amendment protections applicable to state governments as well as the federal. That’s clearly wrong — the Privileges and Immunities Clause is what imposess First Amendment limits on the states. The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has also decided that the P&I clause exists only in the United States of America of the Bizarro World, though, so Due Process Clause it is.
Andy,
Kindly stuff it up your anally retentive agnostic/atheistic ass.
We now run this country based on the sensibilities of a few thousand who are in the vast minority. Some day you are going to make the mob just a little too mad and no federal judge will be around for you to hide behind.
Anybody who even thinks of throwing away their vote on a Democratic candidate or a Libertarian can rest assured that there will be more nonsensical rulings such as this.
You people can’t run the legislatures so you run us through your liberal judges. You suck. That is what should be declared unconstitutional: legislation by judges.
Gee, Melissa, what’s with the hostility? Did the mention of clowns awaken childhood fears?
Seriously, making kids say a magic formula every morning won’t make them more religious nor will it make them more patriotic. I didn’t see Andy “forcing” his beliefs on anyone, and wishing the government would tone down the religious pandering (which is all adding “under god” to the pledge was), isn’t going to herald the apocalypse. The US is still the world’s most religious industrialized nation, despite the “sensibilities of the vast (sic) minority.”
Quite frankly, I’m of the opinion that there are a lot more important things that the courts could be deciding on than whether or not the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional. But what do I know — I’m glad we’re still rich and secure enough that we can take time out to bicker over minutiae.
Le’me get this straight: This is supposed to be a country where the majority makes the decisions. no? So how come, in religous affairs, the decisions aren’t being made by the vast majority who ARE religous but by the tiny minorty who AREN’T? It’s never the bulk of the school football team audience who object to the prayer before the game, it’s the one pus-head who is too emotionally fragile in his precious atheism to show the least acceptance of others’ beliefs who has to waste valuble court time on this issue. Kids were praying in school, adults were praying before games and in courts of law, and people across the nation were pledging allegience to ‘One Nation, Under God’ for generations without sinking the country into a theocracy. This is reminiscent of the flakes in Wisconsin who wanted to ban the Star-Spangled Banner from their school district because it was ‘offensive’.
I just love debating with invisible strangers after my second scotch…
The pledge also describes allegiance to the republic which the flag represents. Maybe the next looney-tune lawsuit will attempt to change “republic” to “democracy.” After all, we shouldn’t be going around trying to inculcate republican politics into the minds of the little darlings.
Ha. I remember as a kid reciting the pledge of allegiance every morning in school. It didn’t matter to me what the danged words were; it was just something I stood up and mumbled with the rest, while I figured out how to get Debbie Herzog to show me her panties and piss off the teacher. Are the children of atheists really so different? I doubt it.
As an adult, I’m sold on every single word in the pledge of allegiance. Every. Single. Word.
In fact, I’m gonna stand up right now and recite it. Or not.
Dear Melissa – pumpkin, when you stop PMS’ing, please come back to discuss something rationally.
The tyranny of the majority is tyranny nonetheless – the Constitution doesn’t exist to protect majority viewpoints, but to defend the majority against a**holes like you – as well as a government populated with a** holes like you.
When you get back from changing your tampon, please visit our site and see that we’re not up in arms over this issue – unlike you. And then kindly f*ck off you self-righteous tw*at.
Apologies in advance for the language, Stephen – must be the beer.
The god in the pledge is obviously Yahweh. I grew up non-religious, to become basically an agnostic who thinks there’s probably no such thing as god, and certainly not a barbaric arabian volcano-sky god. I always winced and felt left out, even in elementary school, when we said the pledge. And I am no less a patriot than anybody else.
Gah, I hate typos … “defend the minority” the “MINORITY” I say… ok, moving along…
Jay, are you saying that atheists/agnostics have stupid children? That we don’t work for improvement of our school systems?
How can you generalize like that? Just because I don’t believe that the word god should be required to come out of the mouths of my children every morning, does not mean that I don’t care about their education, or that they can’t add 2+2.
It just means that when my daughter does not say the pledge, she is respecting the rights of her classmates who believe in deities other than the god who is spoken of in the pledge, or don’t believe in a supreme being at all. It means she is claiming that she has as much right to NOT say the pledge as other people have to say it.
Rote memorization of pledges and prayers do not mean anything in the long run. How many kids can tell you exactly what the pledge means? I recited the Lord’s Prayer so many mornings in high school that the words lost all meaning after a while. It was just another part of the routine of a school day. I’m sure most kids do not swell with patriotic pride as they pledge their allegiance to the flag and their country that exists “under god.”
MY MY MY! Such a tizzy over one little three letter word. Look folks – Having the word “God” in the pledge of allegiance isn’t forcing religion on anyone. If you REALLY don’t believe in God why would that word scare you so? It’s just a word, right? On the other hand NOT having the word “God” in it does not deny anyone the right to worship God or change the moral fiber of the entire nation. It’s just a word! Grow the f__k up!
Well no Lynn. It’s NOT just a word. There is a concerted and organized long-term effort to erode the separation of church and state. One needn’t believe in any particular deity or mono-deity (which the words, under god, imply) to partake fully in civic life and be patriotic. If anybody is being childish it’s the worshipers of yahweh and the bad book that are trying to force their own beliefs on a free, dynamic, and diverse population. Those words have no place in the government sanctioned patriotic pledge to a republic whose government must never establish a national religion.
My point was that both sides are being childish by making such a huge fuss over a relatively minor issue. Personally I do not think that “God” should be in the Pledge but it’s not hurting anyone nor would anyone be hurt by it NOT being in the Pledge.
It is not a matter of whether or not you believe in God but whether or not you believe in separation of church and state. That’s the stupidest thing about this whole issue – that it’s a battle of believers vs. aethiests. Separation of church and state is what has allowed religion to thrive in America and if the dumbasses who keep trying to chip away at it finally get their way they may end up being very sorry.