(Alberto) Gonzales vows fight for Pledge of Allegiance

[sabra]

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/12661611.htm

Gonzales vows fight for Pledge of Allegiance

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday that the Justice Department will fight to overturn a federal court ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance can't be recited in public schools because it contains a reference to God.

Gonzales said the pledge is one of several expressions of national identity and patriotism that mention God but don't violate the Constitution's ban on state-sponsored religion.

The high court "has affirmed time and again that such official acknowledgments of our nation's religious heritage, foundation and character are constitutional," Gonzales said in a statement a day after the ruling by U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton in San Francisco.

The Supreme Court sidestepped the issue last year, ruling that atheist Michael Newdow had no standing to bring the case on behalf of his daughter because he did not have custody of her.

[no_hypocrisy]

Memo to AG, AG: Go to Congress. Get another freakin' fascist

amendment added to the Constitution that contradicts the First Amendement when you don't like a court decision.

[Benhurst]

1. We may no longer have any protections under the

now-shredded U.S. Constitution; but thank Gawd we have Alberto Gonzalez to defend our pledge to the flag of the former republic.

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[Botany]

2. good use of time alberto!

:rofl:

[myrna minx]

25. Well, you know, Bill O'Reilly single handedly saved Christmas

so I'm sure Alberto just wants a piece of the glory. Next, he'll *save* apple pie from the libruls. ;-) Why do libruls HATE apple pie? Whhhyyyyyyyyy??? :evilgrin:

[Solly Mack]

3. What's he gonna do? Torture people who refuse to comply?

He is the Torture Czar after all

[merwin]

4. Why don't people fucking remember that the God reference was

ADDED very recently!?!?!

[ninkasi]

13. Lots of people are too young to remember

when that phrase was added. I was in elementary school, but even so, I would think that when it was added would be taught in school, anyway. Forcing kids to say it won't make them be patriotic, or cause them to feel any different about their country.

I can remember that at one time the flag actually stood for something. Then the conservatives started wrapping themselves in it, and accusing anybody who disagreed with them of being "unpatriotic", and since then it has lost the feelings it used to have for me.

[merwin]

31. Even if htey are too young, it's something that SHOULD be taught

in the schools.

Not like it ever will though

[Rob H.]

5. Whew! Good thing there aren't more important things going on

:sarcasm:

[chelsea0011]

6. Why waste tax payer money fighting real crimes, when this will do.

Maybe Halliburton. Hmmmmmmmmm? How about them, Mr.A.G.,A.G.?

[shrike]

7. Why am I not surprised?

In the immortal words of Jon Stewart, "Why, and who cares?"

[Akoto]

8. You know, I wouldn't have a problem ...

If they'd just remove those two little words from the pledge. They weren't there originally, and seeing as we can safely assume that we're past the age of the Red Scare, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to yoink them out.

Now, even if that were done, I still do not think that anyone should be obligated to say the pledge.

[0007]

9. .....and justice for all"....... and "all" is who? The rich?

[superconnected]

10. Why don't they just change the wording.

Geesh. I'm Christian and I don't have a problem with making the pledge of alegience non-religious.

I doubt God wants to be connected to it anyway.Everyone else speaks for him why can't I? He says, "leave him out of politics," or he'll keep the floods coming.

[MadisonProgressive]

17. It used to be free of the reference to God

I saw we put it back the way the original author intended.

[regnaD kciN]

24. Here's a suggestion...

The last time a court overturned the pledge on those grounds (and we got the predictable Religious Reich outrage), I had the following letter published in the Seattle Times:

As a practising Christian, I have the following reaction to the court's declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because it mentioned "One nation, under God":

Thank heaven! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

That phrase has been a lie since it was inserted in the Pledge in 1954. We were not then, nor are now, a nation dedicated to my (or, as far as I know, any other) God. No, the ultimate concern of the U.S.A. has been for very worldly matters such as wealth, power, and prestige. Religion is worth trotting out to make ourselves feel "holy," or to use as a club to bash "those evil awful people over there" such as gays, liberals, etc. But mention any more-difficult aspects of religious belief, such as caring for the poor or doing good to one's enemies, and we quickly discover the virtues of separation of church and state.

I can think of an easy way to rehabilitate the Pledge of Allegiance, one that only involves adding one additional letter: Change the phrasing to read "One nation, under gold." Not only would that pass constitutional muster, it would also meet the standards of "truth in advertising."

:evilgrin:

[mmonk]

11. Is he going to

fight the indictments as well?

[EST]

12. Why is it a concern of the justice dept.? Who the hell elected them

as the official guardians of religious meddling?
I can remember when the pledge was changed at my grade school, when I was in the second or third grade. It really spoiled the rhythm such that the whole thing limped. I've gotten used to it, although I still find it offensive on many levels.

[geomon666]

14. Thank you!

It isn't up to this pig to determine what's right or wrong.

Gonzales said the pledge is one of several expressions of national identity and patriotism that mention God but don't violate the Constitution's ban on state-sponsored religion.

Well...obviously it does idiot!

[EST]

18. There is an amazingly high percentage of psychotic and

truly antisocial misfits in the grand old putrification, eh? I'll bet the very safest place a criminal could hide would be as an AG, judge, or some similar, beyond reproach, pigeonhole.

[4_Legs_Good]

15. Do declarations like this mean he's not going to be a SCOTUS candidate?

It'd be hard to pretend he didn't have an opinion like Roberts is if this guy is spouting off like this.

david

[EST]

16. Heehee!

He'll just claim he was simply giving voice to his employer and it doesn't necessarily reflect his own opinions. Slimy, smarmy bastards, one and all.

[Demeter]

19. Of all the crises to worry about

this one must rate somewhere about negative infinity. Get with it, man! It's not all about you and your PNAC agenda!

[gauguin57]

20. Pardonnez-moi, but the gov't can't find a better way to spend time & $$?

Alberto Gonzalez can pledge allegiance to my BUTT!

[0rganism]

21. Here we go with the "activist judges removing God from classrooms" meme

It's just another tool for the RNCC.

[FVZA_Colonel]

22. Well, it's not as if he has bigger problems on his desk.

Right? Please tell me I'm right...

[PurityOfEssence]

23. Acknowledge god or you're a subhuman

Let's not even talk about the Constitution, which is very clear about not establishing religion or having any means tests, let's just talk about the many encroachments that are held as precedents. They're held as precedents so further abuse can be justified on the shoulders of past abuse.

This is not something that should be brought up right now, just as the gay marriage issue should not have been brought up during the last election cycle or the gun issue be raised anytime in the near future.

Keep the status quo. It's wrong, just as are "In God We Trust" on our money, the chaplains in Congress and the god references in the oaths sworn (or affirmed) by Representatives and Senators; all those intrusions are the fault of our greatest president, Lincoln, and they're wrong and against the spirit and letter of the law.

Still, we need to simply hold the line. What the right wants is more encroachment of godcrap in our society. To attempt to right egregious wrongs of the past is to keep the issue open, which would further fuel their fire to seize more power; to drop the contentious issue takes the wind out of their sails.

[Charlie Brown]

26. I'm sure another Roberts-in-training will be handling the litigation

Then he'll be chief justice in 20 years.

[deacon2]

27. What courage! What patriotism! What bullshit. n/t

[Massachusetts]

28. "(Alberto) Gonzales vows fight for Pledge of Allegiance"

The Frioto Bandito charges on PROTECTING amerikans.

[TroubleMan]

29. I thought his job was to enforce the law even if he disagrees with it.

:shrug:

[UTUSN]

30. Pledge of Allegiance Pledges to FuckAlberto GONZALES n/t