Quartet
Four articles in close proximity in today's paper evoke varied reactions:
1. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ("affectionately" referred to as the 9th Circus) has finally done something right. They upheld the will of the people of the state of Arizona that mandates that voters should prove their citizenship when registering by showing a passport, birth certificate, naturalization papers, tribal identification or, under some circumstances, an Arizona driver's license. Who could possibly argue with that?
2. Lori Monian, whose dog Wyatt was recently diagnosed with kidney problems caused by recalled pet food, spared no expense to have him treated, and Wyatt appears to be on the way to complete recovery. Monian incurred about $800 in veterinarian bills. In a paraphrase of the Boy's Town expression of love (He ain't heavy, he's my brother), she said, "I don't begrudge the money; he's my dog."
3. Two Maryland coal miners were found dead beneath at least 45 feet of rocks and dirt. I am still amazed that we can get people to risk their lives underground, but we can't find any Americans to pick fruit and vegetables. It couldn't be the money; how many (surviving) rich coal miners have you seen lately?
4. In San Diego, the 29-foot-tall cross, a universal symbol of sacrifice, which was erected in 1954, is still being assailed by the hypocrites in the ACLU and, now, by the Jewish War Veterans and individual Jewish and Muslim plaintiffs. Invoking the non-existent church-state separation issue, the Jewish War Veterans continue to foster intolerance. I, for one, have long since forgiven the Jews for their part in the Crucifixion. When will they forgive themselves?
posted by Don, American Idle @ 5:18 PM
3 Comments:
Re: coal mining vs. fruit picking. There are some geographical concerns you haven't considered.
Re: the Jews killed Jesus. There's your lack of understanding you haven't considered. Might I suggest reading the Gospels? A few hours of your time would correct a lifetime of misinformation. At least on this issue.
But, what else but guilt would cause them to take such offense at the sight of a cross? I saw a Star of David behind a political speaker on TV, and was curious as to why, but completely unoffended.
The phrase separation of church and state is traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, where Jefferson spoke of the combined effect of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The phrase has been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court.
The phrase "separation of church and state" became a definitive part of Establishment Clause jurisprudence in Everson v. Board of Education (1947).
In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Court determined it unconstitutional by a vote of 6-1 for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools. As the Court stated:
The petitioners contend [that] the State's use of the Regents' prayer in its public school system breaches the constitutional wall of separation between Church and State. We agree with that contention, since we think that the constitutional prohibition against laws respecting an establishment of religion must at least mean that, in this country, it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers for any group of the American people.
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