Sept. 24, 2004 - 18:00 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

"King's Ex"

A slippery slope well greased by radical types in our Congress, it looks to me that is how things could be viewed now.

An article in today's Rocky Mountain News by Jim Abrams of the Associated Press, here quoted in part:

House vote shields pledge's 'under God'

"WASHINGTON -- The House, in an emotionally and politically charged debate six weeks before the election, voted Thursday to to protect the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance from further court challenges."

"The legislation would prevent federal courts, including the Supreme Court, from hearing cases challenging the words "under God," a part of the pledge for the past 50 years."

"The Pledge Protection Act was adopted 247-173, with support from 213 Republicans and 34 Democrats. Voting against it were 166 Democrats, six Republicans and one Independent"

"Democrats said Republicans were debasing the Constitution to force a vote that could hurt Democrats at the ballot box. Supporters insisted Congress has always had authority to limit federal court jurisdiction, and the legislation is needed to protect an affirmation of religion that is part of the national heritage.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The thing that bothers me is the phrase, "Supporters insisted Congress has always had authority to limit federal court jurisdiction." If that is true, why even have a court system ?

To look at it another way, Why not forbid challenges to our law regarding abortion ? And other rules fought for over the years which finally became part of our law should maybe be etched in the very granite of our mountains so that some fringe lunatics in Congress could not ever successfully change them.

Maybe we could go back and see that the NLRB is put back to the way it was years ago. Prevent OSHA from being emasculated or whatever one wishes to call it. Make sure that overtime rules are not tampered with, nor the forty hour work week messed with.

Funny, I have never, ever seen any one or group trying to promote changing the words on our coins, neither "e pluribus unum," nor "In God We Trust." There has been no uproar about that has there ?

And as far as the "In God we trust," bit - - - I said the pledge of allegiance, as a patriot for many more years than that phrase has existed since its insertion in the pledge.

I feel myself to be a Christian, but feel that Government has no right to activity toward our beliefs either for or against. This "faith based" bit in government is for the birds, I think.

And if we as a nation are going to allow such things to exist, then lets nail down such things as women having the right to determine what can be done to their bodies and not condemn them to back alley abortions and such things ? Guarantee that something will be done to protect those who have different sexual orientation and give them the same rights that hetero-sexual folks have ? There have been so many devoted, committed folks who have no rights under law as it is. So that is another thing that should be nailed down tight. My personal opinion is that gay folks have the right to marry and have the very same legal rights as "straight" folks have, and have the right to be married in whatever church does not refuse to render them as "married." And if that is too repugnant to the "Moral Majority," Then let the legal end be accomplished as a civil ceremony and the rights of those folks be established -- forever.

Maybe it is time to force this thing to a head - now. I do not like these pipsqueak lawmakers doing their nasty little things and singing their nyah, nyah, nyah ditty -- "Kings Ex" . . . . . . . . . .

Blog