Court dismisses Pledge case: Atheist father cannot sue over use of ‘Under God’
Are we surprised? NO! The rationale of most of the judges (5 of them) had nothing to do with whether or not it violated the First Amendment — it had to do with the fact that the father has no legal right to speak for his daughter because he does not have custody of her. The others (3 of them) dealt with the First Amendment issue.
i am not sure i believe that it truly violates the first amendment. however, i do think the under god part should be removed (mostly because of *why* it was first put in).
i’m not a big fan of her dad though, and i think that the judges should evaluate it partially on the point of whether he has the right to sue because of her, since i really do NOT like the way parents like him use their children for their own activism.
Yeah, it would have been nice had the Court dealt with this issue now instead of deferring … still … I can think of nothing more crushing to Newdow’s ego and plans by not giving him a chance to either bask in the glory of a win, or whine incessantly about a defeat.
This was the only decision that could deny him full 15 minutes of fame. So in that sense, it makes me smirk.
Two points.
1. I find it totally Ironic that the mother is a born again Christian.
2. Saying one word in a single sentence can have this guy so worked up.
I’ve commented on this in my own blog if curious. Take care and thanks for reading.
I am glad that the Court took the stand saying this guy had no legal standing to present the case. I was suprised that they did not discuss the First Amendment issue, but I agree that they should not have. However, I do find it ironic that the Justices who wanted to discuss the issue are 3 of the more “conservative” Justices on the Court.
I’m not surprised that the other 5 justices didn’t want to touch the constitutionality issue. Why stir up a hornet’s nest. They’re going to get that chance soon enough, someone will step forward with legal standing to bring the case to court.
I agree with Crystalina, WHY it was put into the pledge to begin with is troubling. Remnants of Cold War paranoia is not something we need in the pledge.