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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 6, 2006 Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2006 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America From our Nation's earliest days, Old Glory has stood for America's strength, unity, and liberty. During Flag Day and National Flag Week, we honor this enduring American symbol and celebrate the hope and ideals that it embodies. In 1777, the Second Continental Congress established the flag of a young Nation, whose 13 original states were represented in the flag's 13 stars and 13 alternating red and white stripes. Today, the...

A federal judge has declared a state law requiring students to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Ryskamp also declared students do not need a parent's permission to be excused from reciting the pledge, citing previous federal cases. ''It is a long-standing rule of constitutional law that a student may remain quietly seated during the pledge on grounds of personal or political belief,'' Ryskamp stated in his ruling based on a lawsuit filed by a Boynton Beach High School student who had refused to stand for the pledge. Cameron Frazier, then a 17-year-old junior,...

SENECA FALLS NY--Former Seneca County lawmaker Richard Ricci said Thursday "that's a bunch of baloney" to criticism that he was grandstanding when he led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance at a public hearing Wednesday night. At the close of his prepared remarks, Ricci called on the crowd of about 300 at the New York Chiropractic College to stand with him and recite the pledge. Many in the crowd stood on cue, but a scattering of people didn't. They included Clint Halftown, the New York Cayuga Indians' federally recognized representative, and Syracuse lawyer Daniel French, a former U.S. Attorney...

Cameron Frazier won't stand for having to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. Literally. Now the 11th-grader at Boynton Beach High School has sued a teacher, an assistant principal and the school board to make sure he doesn't have to stand for, or recite, the pledge. Frazier, 17, contends that on Dec. 8, his math teacher, Cynthia Alexandre, berated him in front of his classmates when he refused to stand for the pledge. He says he informed her that he hadn't done so since he was in sixth grade. "See your desk? Now look at mine. Big desk, little desk....

"On the first day of school this fall, when all the students around her stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, an 11th-grade girl at Chesapeake High School in Essex stayed seated and silent. But her teacher ordered her to stand, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is waging a campaign to draw attention to students' First Amendment rights. ACLU officials wrote Maryland school Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick yesterday to alert her to what they say are a growing number of complaints they are receiving from students who are being harassed by teachers when they refuse to stand...

Residents will get a chance to make their views known about the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance during a demonstration and counter-demonstration in Milford Nov. 5. The two demonstrations will offer residents a perfect opportunity to hear both sides of this controversy. The Pledge of Allegiance has been under attack because it contains the phrase "One nation under God." Certain groups charge that this phrase violates the constitutional separation of church and state. A recent California Court ruling stated that the phrase is unconstitutional. The case likely will reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The Knights of Columbus...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A man who is fighting to get the words "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance was back in federal court Wednesday, making some surprising comments about the case. Although the hearing was a procedural matter with no key rulings, Michael Newdow said that if he is successful in having the words removed from the pledge at the U.S. Supreme Court level, it still wouldn't be enough. Newdow believes that it is time to get rid of the old Pledge of Allegiance altogether. He said that it's impractical to just change the pledge because children will...

Minority Rules! Who Will Protect The Majority From The Minority? According to most encyclopedias, a Republic is a "state or country having a government whose political power depends solely on the consent of the people governed." The Constitution, if interpreted with common horse sense, dictates that the majority of the people should have at least some input into how the United States is governed. Liberal manipulation, however, has effectively dissolved the influence and vote of the majority and has displaced Majority Rules with Minority Rules. An overwhelming majority of Americans do no not approve of Partial Birth Abortion in which...

Earlier this year, Steve Adams, president of the Colorado AFL-CIO, complained that Coloradans were sick and tired of "Republicans bashing gays, toting guns and worrying about the Pledge of Allegiance." You could debate the merits and truth of his screed, but it's difficult to understand how the Pledge of Allegiance could be lumped in with these critical issues. As for his question: Why do so many Republicans worry about the Pledge? That's easy. While Democrats contend that the whole brouhaha is a "wedge" issue, it's far less complicated than that. (By the way, a wedge issue is any issue a...

New Haven, Sep. 16, 2005 (CNA) - The national office of the Knights of Columbus has announced that the group plans to immediately appeal a decision, given earlier this week by a California judge, that the words “under God” render the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional.The Knights were among the defendants in the case of Newdow vs. Congress of the United States, et al--the decision of which has angered religious groups nationwide.District Judge Lawrence Karlton said in his Wednesday decision that the phrase violates a student’s right to be ``free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.'' The ruling effects three...

A basic rule of physics is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, too, in the fight over the Pledge of Allegiance. Sandy Banning, mother of the 11-year-old Elk Grove student whose father is atheist Michael Newdow, has become an activist for keeping the pledge intact - with the phrase "under God" - while Newdow battles against its constitutionality. Banning showed up in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to buttonhole members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and to lobby for the confirmation of John Roberts, President Bush's nominee for U.S. Supreme Court chief justice. Her appearance...

For Release: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Website: www.jerrykilgore.com Statement of Jerry Kilgore - Regarding California Judge’s Ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is Unconstitutional - RICHMOND – Former Attorney General and Republican nominee for Governor Jerry Kilgore today issued the following statement regarding a ruling by a San Francisco judge that the Pledge of Allegiance is Unconstitutional: "I find it offensive, particularly while we have brave men and women overseas risking their lives to protect our freedoms, that a court would rule the pledge of allegiance unconstitutional. "Especially considering that the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress begin...

Newdow: Pledge Forces God On Atheists NewsMax.com Wires Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005 An atheist seeking to strike the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools has won a major battle in his quest to force the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue again. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton sided with atheist Michael Newdow in ruling Wednesday that the pledge's reference to God violates the rights of children in three school districts to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." Karlton said he was bound by precedent of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court...

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (search) in public schools was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton (search) ruled that the pledge's reference to one nation "under God" violates school children's right to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God."

SAN FRANCISCO — Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (search) in public schools was ruled unconstitutional Wednesday by a federal judge who granted legal standing to two families represented by an atheist who lost his previous battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON, June 14. - (INS) The U. S. supreme court today upheld the constitutional right of children in public schools to refuse to salute the American flag. Reversing its 1940 judgment, the court held, 6 to 3, that it is unconstitutional and a violation of the bill of rights for public schools to expel pupils who renounce allegiance to the symbolic banner of the United States. "Symbolism is a primitive but effective way of communicating ideas," the court stated. "The use of an emblem or flag to symbolize some system, idea, institution, or personality, is a short cut from mind...

RICHMOND, Va. -- An appeals court on Wednesday upheld a Virginia law that requires public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, rejecting a claim that its reference to God was an unconstitutional promotion of religion. A suit filed by Edward Myers of Sterling, Va., a father of three, raised the objection to the phrase "one nation under God." A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the pledge is a patriotic exercise, not an affirmation of religion similar to a prayer. "Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a Virginia law requiring public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Edward Myers of Sterling, Va., a father of three, claimed that the reference to "one nation under God" in the pledge was an unconstitutional promotion of religion. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling that the pledge is a patriotic exercise, not an affirmation of religion similar to a prayer. "Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to...

This is just one of a number of Patriotic statements and videos on this web page. Be sure that your sound is turned on while enjoying a "Celebration of Freedom." http://www.nationalmorality.com/

This is only one of a number of patriotic statements on this website. Be sure that your sound is turned on as you enjoy this "Celebration of Freedom."

Has this posted as "Pledge of Allegiance:" I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands - one nation indivisible - with liberty and justice for all.

Congress moves to insulate "under God" in the pledge of allegiance from activist judges. A member of the House has introduced legislation that would take away from the nation's courts the power to rule on the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance. Article III Section 2 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to place certain limits on the courts. And that's just what Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri intends to do. "You can say the pledge if you want to," he said. "But obviously, I think we've gone too far if the court starts to use the First Amendment...

The War For The Soul Of America - Keeping God In Our Pledge By Kevin Fobbs April 26, 2004 Fifty years ago, young children all across America walked into their respective school rooms and with pride bursting in their young chests they recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and there was a new and deeper meaning reflected in the new addition to this pledge. The addition was "One nation under God." What is interesting and insightful about this was its genesis. Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister wrote the original Pledge in August 1892. Another person of the cloth...

JEFFERSON COUNTY - Seventh-grader Bailey Pierce, hand pressed against her heart, was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance when the voice over the intercom said something that stopped her cold. "One nation, under 'your belief system.' " Bailey said that guidance counselor Margo Lucero substituted the phrase for "under God" while leading the morning pledge at Everitt Middle School on Wednesday. Bailey said the incident shocked her and her classmates, many of whom stopped in mid-sentence and exchanged bewildered looks. Principal Kathleen Norton was out of the building during the incident, but apologized Thursday to the student body and today will...

Estes Park - Voters on Tuesday night recalled a town trustee over his refusal to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance before board meetings. The vote to boot David Habecker, 59, off the town board was 903-605. Voters also chose 60-year- old businessman Richard Homeier to replace him. The recall election garnered state and national attention. Habecker, an agnostic, claimed saying the phrase "under God" in the Pledge violated the separation of church and state. Habecker, a hotel owner, said the vote was upsetting. "All the things I was taught as a child about this country, including religious tolerance,...

DENVER -- Voters in Estes Park, Colo., removed town trustee David Habecker from office Tuesday in a recall election that hinged on his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at town meetings. Mr. Habecker, who lost by a vote of 903-605, said he is considering whether to pursue further legal action to overturn the recall outcome, arguing that the voters had infringed upon his First Amendment rights. A 12-year trustee and self-described agnostic, Mr. Habecker refused to stand for the Pledge because he objects to the words "under God," which he described as unconstitutional and "un-American." "It was a...

ESTES PARK - Estes Park residents voted Tuesday to recall a town trustee who refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before board meetings. The final vote was 903 to 605 in favor of recalling David Habecker. The turnout was much higher than for a typical municipal election. Some voters, like Trudy Hewitt, said they though Habecker was being unpatriotic. "When you sit down during the Pledge of Allegiance, which is to our flag, which is about patriotism, which is about our country, you dishonor everybody that has fought and sacrificed for our country," she said. "I think his constitutional...

DENVER (AP) - A judge ruled Wednesday that a town can hold a recall election to decide whether to oust a trustee for remaining seated during Pledge of Allegiance at Town Board meetings. U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham ruled that citizens have a right to disagree with Estes Park Trustee David Habecker and that recall organizers did nothing wrong when they gathered more than 200 signatures supporting the effort. The judge withdrew a temporary injunction that had blocked a recall election that had been scheduled for Feb. 15. The injunction was issued after the trustee filed a lawsuit to stop...

A ninth-grader is protesting his school's decision to broadcast the Pledge of Allegiance in foreign languages as part of National Foreign Language Week. Patrick Linton said he and other students at Old Mill High School sat down rather than stand Wednesday when the Pledge was read over the school's public address system in Russian. Linton's teacher told him if he had a problem he should leave the room. He did, and did not plan to return this week. "This is America, and we got soldiers at war," the 15-year-old said. "When you're saying the Pledge in a different language which...

In Estes Park, there's discomfort on all political sides that the flap over a town trustee's refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance is redefining the community. "Estes Park is becoming known as a town that wants to recall someone instead of as a tourist attraction," said Linda Wagner, a 12-year resident.

DENVER (AP) - An official in a small tourist town sued his colleagues Friday, saying they're unfairly targeting him for recall over his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at board meetings. Estes Park town trustee David Habecker, who describes himself as agnostic, says the words "under God" in the pledge violate his religious beliefs and are at odds with the separation of church and state, according to his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver. The lawsuit says Habecker exercises his First Amendment right to religious freedom and sits during Town Board meetings while other members recite...

What was it about the World Trade Center that attracted Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida killers – not once but twice? And why attack the Pentagon? And why was one of the skyjacked planes headed toward another Washington target, possibly the White House or the Capitol Building? Why? Because they're more than inviting targets; they're highly visible symbols of American life. They represent free enterprise and our successful commerce throughout the world; they represent our supreme military might; and they represent our free democratic government, the envy – and fear – of the rest of the world. Some of...

WASHINGTON - The atheist who tried to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to bar the saying of a prayer at President Bush's inauguration. In an emergency filing, Michael Newdow argued that a prayer at Thursday's ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs. His request has been rejected by two lower courts. Newdow also asked that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who is designated as the justice to hear emergency appeals for the D.C. Circuit, recuse himself because he is scheduled to swear in Bush and...

Professional atheist Mike Newdow, perhaps sensing that his fifteen minutes were drawing to a close, has found a way to reset the fleeting-fame timer: going to court to stop President Bush from having ministers say prayers at the inauguration.Michael Newdow, a lawyer and doctor who has fought to keep his daughter from being exposed to the Pledge of Allegiance in her public school, said the inauguration is perhaps the most public of all government-sponsored national ceremonies. It should not provide the president with an opportunity to make nonreligious citizens and non-Protestants feel like outsiders, he said. Newdow filed suit last...

Thursday, June 27, 2002 2:21 p.m. EDT Hillary Pledges Allegiance to 'the America That Can Be' The two judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who ruled yesterday that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional aren't the only folks who have a problem with the Pledge's wording. Apparently, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton would also like to revise the words that every schoolchild learns to recite in kindergarten. While the 9th Circuit objected to the phrase "one nation under God," Sen. Clinton reportedly prefers a version of the Pledge that acknowledges America's flaws, one that begins with the...

Voters in this woodsy mountain village will decide soon whether to recall a member of the town's Board of Trustees who refuses to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. David Habecker, a two-term member of the board, faces a Feb. 15 recall vote after drawing the community's ire for refusing to stand because he objects to the phrase "under God." He said the wording violates Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." "This makes the Pledge a religious...

DENVER -- A recall election is now set for an Estes Park, Colo., trustee who refuses to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the Town Board meetings.I have not been standing for the Pledge of Allegiance due to a conflict I have with the wording of the pledge, specifically the words 'under God,'" Councilman David Habecker said. Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand.The board began reciting the pledge before meetings earlier this year at the suggestion of Trustee Lori...

Spotsylvania School Board moves toward revoking policy that forces students to stand during Pledge of Allegiance Spotsylvania County's policy on the Pledge of Allegiance in schools is likely to change--largely because of the objections of a seventh-grade student. The county requires all students to stand facing the flag with their right hands over their hearts during the pledge at the start of each school day. Students can choose not to recite the pledge if they or their parents object on religious, philosophical or other grounds. That policy is consistent with state law. But Virginia code also allows students to quietly...

A recall election is now set for an Estes Park, Colo., trustee who refuses to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the Town Board meetings. "I have not been standing for the Pledge of Allegiance due to a conflict I have with the wording of the pledge, specifically the words 'under God,'" Councilman David Habecker said. Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand. The board began reciting the pledge before meetings earlier this year at the suggestion of Trustee Lori Jeffrey-Clark....

Those poor pagans. Studying the magical arts and worshiping the divinity of nature are no easy tasks. Not when helpless trees are being ripped from Mother Earth by jovial Christians celebrating their little winter solstice get-togethers. But there is hope. To all my Wiccan, neopagan and belligerently atheist friends, you now have a new hero fighting the theocratic forces of tyranny: Estes Park Town Trustee David Habecker. It's true that his courageous stand - or rather, courageous sit - protesting the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance before each meeting of the town board would be a lot...

A friend of mine asked me how I come up with my ideas. People who don’t write for a living are always asking writers about the source of their inspiration.When I’m in a particularly glib mood, I say my mortgage is my muse. But the truth is that it’s a very reasonable question. If, for instance, a person sits down to write a 900-page novel, one might very well ask him where he got his ideas -- starting with the goofy idea that anyone in his right mind might actually want to read a 900-page novel. However, when someone puts...

Okay, America is a great country --the best in the world-- and we live here day after day...but do we show our patiotism enough?How many of you fly our Flag each day, and take it back inside each night? have a Flag on your car? can recite the Pledge of Allegiance--right now? know how much our fore-father's and veterans gave of their lives for our freedoms?

Twice this year, the House has passed bills to curb judicial activism by limiting federal court jurisdiction.The passage of the Pledge Protection Act of 2004 (H.R. 2028) by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 21 by a vote of 247-173 has highlighted some very encouraging signs in Congress. And I do not simply mean that the Pledge of Allegiance would be protected, though that is a good thing as well.H.R. 2028 states: "No court created by Act of Congress shall have jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide" cases pertaining to the...

ESTES PARK - The mountain town of Estes Park is wrestling with some momentous issues these days; issues like freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the U.S. Constitution. It all came to a head when Town Trustee David Habecker refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at last week's board meeting. Habecker says the "under God" clause clashes with the constitutional separation of church and state. "I firmly believe it is a violation of the Constitution and felt it was my duty to make that position known," says Habecker. But Town Trustee Lori Jeffrey-Clark says Habecker should have made...

WASHINGTON - Justices once again are considering a case involving the Pledge of Allegiance. Justices were asked this year whether the pledge and its reference to God belong in public schools. They got rid of the red-hot case without ruling on that issue. Now, a Colorado man wants the court to decide if the oath belongs in courthouses. Frank Herbert Wonschik was convicted of possessing parts for a machine gun in 2002 by a jury that recited the pledge after hearing a patriotic speech from the judge. His federal public defender, Jill Wichlens, said in court papers that judges hearing...

Republican strategists are targeting vulnerable House Democrats who voted against legislation that would strip courts of their jurisdiction to review cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance. Calling it “an issue voters understand and respond to on a visceral level,” the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) launched a coordinated effort last week attacking select Democrats for voting against the Pledge Protection Act. The Hill was provided a list of 10 Democratic incumbents the NRCC is targeting on the pledge bill, including Reps. Dennis Moore (Kan.), Baron Hill (Ind.) and Michael Michaud (Maine). “This is an opportunity for Congress to say we...

Federal Courts and the Pledge of Allegiance by Rep. Ron Paul, MD Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support, and cosponsor, the Pledge Protection Act (HR 2028), which restricts federal court jurisdiction over the question of whether the phrase “under God” should be included in the pledge of allegiance. Local schools should determine for themselves whether or not students should say “under God” in the pledge. The case finding it is a violation of the First Amendment to include the words “under God” in the pledge is yet another example of federal judges abusing their power by usurping state and...

"A bill passed by Congress on Thursday would strip the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts of the authority to hear cases regarding the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 247-173. It still needs approval of the U.S. Senate, which is unlikely to advance the bill this year."

Thursday's vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to save the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is, as some have complained, an election-year wedge issue. But that doesn't mean the issue isn't worthy of discussion and a decision. Fact is, when it comes to "under God," most people have come to accept the pledge's use of the words, which have been a part of the pledge for 50 years. It's highly doubtful that those two words inspire any nonbelievers to run out to church. They may, really, just be a quiet reminder to those who already have...

Move to forbid court challenges is latest 'wedge' issue to come up prior to this fall's election WASHINGTON - The House, in an emotionally and politically charged debate six weeks before the election, voted Thursday to protect the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance from further court challenges. The legislation, promoted by GOP conservatives, 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. Democrats said the Republicans were debasing the Constitution to force a vote that could hurt Democrats at the...