Supreme Court of the United States

[ErikW]

Weasely, spineless pussies!

[gm iprod]

And our witless Government has just invented our own version.

Why why why why why why why.

[EricW]

[bountyhunter]

When I was growing up in Louisiana in the late 50's, the favorite sign was:

"Impeach Earl Warren"

Nothing ever changes.

[Chuck D]

Nothing spineless about it...

The person bringing the suit did not have standing to do so based upon the fact that there is a standing "custody issue" regarding the youth named in the suit. Without that custody issue being resolved...the suit brought by the father has no merit on the youth's behalf.

It's black letter law.

If the suit had merit...I have no doubt it would be throw out anyway. Why waste time debating and ruling on something that by rule of law can not be resolved because the person bringing the suit did not have "standing" to do so.

This is something the 9th circuit should have figured out from the get-go.

The Rule of Law prevailed here regardless of the perception that the 9 Supreme Court Justices "shirked" their responsibilities.

[Deuce]

In case you're talking about the pledge ...

Among the most interesting tidbits about the early history of the Pledge of Allegiance is the way it which it was said until 1942 when Congress became concerned that the stance looked all the world like the Nazi salute. Until then, as the drawing demonstrates, there was the "Bellamy Salute" (named, of course, for the man who wrote the pledge) — with the right hand resting first outward from the chest, then the arm extending out from the body.

Another most interesting change came in 1923 when Bellamy's original "I pledge allegiance to my flag" became "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America" — some were concerened that all of the immigrants might get confused and think that it was the flag of their old country instead of their new one.

The pledge, written in 1892, did not become part of our official Flag Code until Congress adopted it in June 1942, and it wasn't until 1945 that the official name became "Pledge of Allegiance."

Most curiously, the U.S. Flag Code provides as follows:

Sec. 10. - Modification of rules and customs by President

Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States of America, set forth herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed, or additional rules with respect thereto may be prescribed, by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable; and any such alteration or additional rule shall be set forth in a proclamation.

In short, the president of the United States can proclaim a change in the Pledge of Allegiance tomorrow, if he wished.

The phrase "under God" added in 1954 by Congress (there was not a single vote against) and signed into law by President Eisenhower on Flag Day, June 14. Eisenhower publicly thanked the Knights of Columbus, the Roman Catholic fraternal organization, for their effort to insert the words -- this was during the worst of the Cold War with the "godless" Soviet Union. Said Eisenhower, ""We are particularly thankful to you for your part in the movement to have the words 'under God' added to our Pledge of Allegiance. These words will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which along give dignity to man..."