[doug from upland]

THE FATE OF THE PREVIOUSLY MOST DESPISED ATHEIST WAS PRETTY GRUESOME

[AZ_Cowboy]

Atheist to sue over 'In God We Trust' on money

You knew it was only a matter of time.

Where did those people go who said this would never happen, again? There are a few people I wish I had forced to place a bet with me right about now...

[CyberAnt]

Well .. if he doesn't like "In God We Trust" on his money .. he can send his money to me .. It doesn't bother me to have that statement on my money.

[HitmanLV]

Has anybody asked him how he managed to get through life being offended so often and so easily?

In other words, has he considered that maybe he is just too sensitive?

[Time4Atlas2Shrug]

I tend to favor the opinion that his efforts are ill-conceived, yet I am having a difficult time finding a constitutional argument that renders his assertions false.

The best I can come up with is that "God" is not unique to any particular religion. I understand that atheists see the reference as a religious one, but it is not the government specifically "respecting an establishment of religion". (Webster's defines "establishment" as "that which is ordained" or "set up".) This would seem to require that the government is respecting something that someone, or group, has set up such as would occur with the establishment of a church or a religious denomination, not a general belief.

Perhaps the issue could lie in how the founders defined "religion". Has the meaning evolved and our modern usage is different than it was in the 1700's?

Another huge problem that our founders did not create is the incorporation of the states via the 14th Amendment into the Bill of Rights. They originally only applied to the federal government but the SCOTUS then determined that the 14th Amendment removed the states' ability to create their own constitutions without federal oversight. That is why the language of the First Amendment begins "Congress shall make no law" - it was not intended to limit the states.

Anyway, I would love our FReeper constitutionalists to weigh in on both sides of the argument if possible. Sorry for the lengthy post.

Thanks.

[RunningWolf]

As a born American, this kind of internal assault on our symbols alarms me
(as much or even more than the Janet Reno sieges on private citizens).

I lay much of this corruption of our culture at the feet of the very lax immigration policy over the last 25 years.

Wolf

[kingu]

"Your Honors, Mister Newdow is so horrified and impacted by the motto 'In God We Trust' that he has collected currency since he was a child. Even now, bank records show, he holds quite a stash of the offending currency. Beyond, those same bank records show that he's paid tremendous amounts of these offending notes to his mortgage company, his auto loan company and other entities.

"For the plaintiff to seek such a change, he would have to show that he is impacted in some form, that he has taken some form of effort to minimize the effect. Instead, we have a gentleman who is effectively standing in the middle of the church service that so deeply offends his core and demanding that everyone else stop praying since it bothers him.

"This case should be dismissed until such time that he divests himself of the currency that offends him and also divests of all property gained from using that currency. Anything less is saying to all future plaintiffs - go ahead, stand in the middle of the freeway, and sue to prevent people from driving cars because it puts you in danger. This is absolutely devoid of all common sense and it destroys one of the common ideals of the very basis of our law - if you are a party to the events, you can not sue to stop yourself."

[jonrick46]

Francis Scott Key:

"O! Thus be it ever when free men shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation;

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n-rescued land

Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just;

And this be our motto, "In God is our trust!"

And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

[muir_redwoods]

Earlier, the founders said "We hold these truths the be self-evident, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights...."

A simple defense of "In God We Trust" is that the "We" refers to a subset of Americans since the "We" spoken of by the founders also consisted of a subset of Americans. As such, "In God We Trust" is a simple statement of fact.

[freeangel]

Is he never responsible for my tax dollars(which I like saying in God we trust) being spent on defenses for these ludicrous suits?

[NeoCaveman]

I volunteer to all that money off their hands, as it offends them so.

[carmody]

Why doesn't he sue to make government employees work on Christmas Day? Wonder how far that would get in Congress?

[pollyannaish]

Doofus. Unfortunately, a doofus with a loud microphone, a willing press and the ninth circuit.

Sigh.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Deep thought...

Is there a special Hell for atheists?

[MarkL]

I've come to the conclusion that Bill Cosby had it right as far as dealing with people like Newdow, who are overly litigious...

I seem to recall that Bill Cosby was talking about someone who was going to sue him, and Bill said that he'd beat him up if the guy sued him. The guy said that he'd sue him for beating him up, and Bill said that if he did, he'd just beat him up again!

I think that what Newdow needs is a serious, class A ass kicking!

Mark

[RedhairRedhair]

There are no Athiest in a foxhole