SJC to hear Pledge of Allegiance case

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is gearing up to hear a court case that could permanently strike the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance recited by schoolchildren.

[NightSerf]

This case is worth following, no?

[P_Smith]

From the article:

>> He stressed that this case would not eliminate
>> the pledge, but remove the "under God" section,
>> which he says gives one religious view a position
>> of advantage in the classroom.
>>
>> "That's not an atheist agenda. That's a secular
>> agenda," said Bos. He said the effort is not to
>> have the classroom promote atheism, but to keep
>> the school from weighing in on religious issues.

Pledges are offensive enough without the revolting inclusion of religion. It's not a free country if a person is required to "pledge" anything on a daily basis. How is that any different than a bowing before a king which is allegedly the reason the US sought independence in the first place?

>> There was no mention of God when the Pledge of
>> Allegiance was written by Baptist Minister Francis
>> Bellamy in 1892 to celebrate the 400th anniversary
>> of Christopher Columbus' journey.
>>
>> In 1923, the wording was expanded,[...]
>>
>> The phrase "under God" was inserted in 1954 as part
>> of an effort to have America stand apart from the
>> Soviet Union, which was openly atheistic.

No, the Soviet Union was a dictatorship run by demagogic idealogues, much like the republicunt party in 2012 or the taliban. The USSR only opposed religion because it posed a challenge to absolute rule. There actually *was* religious freedom for christians, jews and muslims in the USSR as long as they didn't threaten the regime.

>> "It was something that was added rather
>> opportunistically," said Bos. Religious groups like
>> the Knights of Columbus worked to have "under God"
>> inserted in the pledge.

It's actually surprising to see a newspaper website bothering to explain facts and history. It must be a locally owned paper, not part of a massive corporation.

[Amused]

It is interesting that the state supreme court took the case directly. Usually appeals go to the intermediate appeals court first, and only then to the SJC. One or more of the SJC justices must be eager to decide this.

[Joe Cash]

In God we trust!

When are they going to force the removal of "In God we trust" from our currency?

[redneck]

Joe Cash wrote:

In God we trust!
When are they going to force the removal of "In God we trust" from our currency?

ince my retirement I deal in a lot of cash to avoid taxes. I use a green sharpie to redact 'god' on all bills. Last month I removed god from $7000 in 20's.

[Typical Redneck]

Hopefully you will be caught and sent to jail since the defacing of US Currency is unlawful.

[Amused]

P_Smith wrote:

From the article:
...
It's actually surprising to see a newspaper website bothering to explain facts and history. It must be a locally owned paper, not part of a massive corporation.

They are owned by Medianews Group, which is a fairly large outfit based in Denver. They are organized into regions, and this region seems to have a hands off management style. That's a good thing.

[The True Story]

Typical Redneck wrote:

Hopefully you will be caught and sent to jail since the defacing of US Currency is unlawful.

I'll be generous and give you partial credit.

Defacing paper currency is illegal only if the currency is rendered unusable.

Typical right-winger spreading wrong information. You hear something and want it to be true, so you don't bother verifying what you hear.

[Typical Redneck]

Who said I was a right-winger? Although I stand corrected...thank you. The government that issues our money still asks that people refrain from writing or using the currency in a manner inconsistent with its intent.

If I were to get a little religious, I would say that God really isn't at all interested in our worthless currency anyway, but that wasn't the intention of the term on our currency.

"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and render to God what is God's"

[redneck]

Typical Redneck wrote:

Who said I was a right-winger? Although I stand corrected...thank you. The government that issues our money still asks that people refrain from writing or using the currency in a manner inconsistent with its intent.
If I were to get a little religious, I would say that God really isn't at all interested in our worthless currency anyway, but that wasn't the intention of the term on our currency.
"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and render to God what is God's"

But Caesar was real. www.400monkeys.com/God

[Huh]

Are you gay?