Posted on 12/30/2008 11:54:38 AM PST by nickcarraway
A well-known California atheist says he and 17 others, plus atheist and humanist organizations, will file suit Tuesday in D.C.'s District Court to strip all references to God and religion from President-elect Barack Obama's January inauguration ceremony. Michael Newdow, of Sacramento, Calif., says he wants to remove the phrase "so help me God" from the oath of office, plus axe the invocation prayer from Pastor Rick Warren, already under fire from the left for his opposition to gay marriage.
According to Newdow, any reference to God or religion violates the Constitution.
"Equality is important to me," Newdow told The Examiner. "We should show equal respects for all of our citizens, regardless of their race, gender or religion."
The draft of the lawsuit contends: "By placing 'so help me God' in its oaths and sponsoring prayers to God, government is lending its power to one side of perhaps the greatest religious controversy: God's existence or non-existence."
Newdow has tried this before: he sued to remove religion from the 2001 and 2005 presidential inaugurations, but lost both times.
In 2005, U.S. District Judge John Bates denied his effort to obtain a preliminary injunction to keep the president from uttering the words 'so help me God' as he takes the oath of office.
Nonetheless, Newdow thinks his odds are good.
"It depends on if they decide to uphold the principles of the constitution or not," Newdow told the Examiner. "If they do, they're 100 percent."
Prof. Ron Allen, a constitutional law expert at Northwestern University, disagrees.
"You can understand the impulse, it seems as though it's a governmental activity imbued with religious symbols and a certain sect of religious symbols, Christian obviously, in particular,"Allen said. "No one thinks the government is establishing a church by the president saying 'so help be God' at his own initiative when taking the oath. I don't think the courts will intervene."
Does he mean the One ?
Allah willing
Moron.
Obama’s response:
“OK by me. No Bible - No reference to God.
Now I can get out the Koran and swear to Allah.”
The USA was founded on certain premises. Newdow is trying to force HIS morality upon all the rest of us in opposition to those premises.
That career intolerancemonger needs prayer.
From everything that I have heard, read, seen of him, I can only conclude that Mr. Michael Newdow, of Sacramento, Calif., is a petty, sad, narcissistic little man who desperately craves attention and publicity.
Good luck.
so, how does that fit in to mr “porpoise driven strife”’s plans?
The Atheists are wasting their money. They'd been better off contributing it to Bernie Madoff.
Wish I could see him tell that to Washington, Madison, Franklin, Hamilton, etc.
Newdow is a psycho-Homo.
Bingo!
Hussain votes “Present”
I guess the minority wants to tell the overwhelming majority of people here that they can’t believe in God...
Michael Newdow, “There is no God!”
God, “There is no Michael Newdow!.....Now”...............
Mr. Newdow, here's a newsflash for you... You are NOT equal, you are inferior, a blight on humanity, a parasite on culture and civilization. Stop trying to force your religion on us. Public observation of religious tenets does not make a State Religion.
I expect to see maggots like Newdow suing in the future to block all religious buildings from public view because the mere sight of a steeple, cross, Star of David, etc. offends the tender sensibilities of the atheist.
This just gets creepier by the day.
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