SARATOGA GIRL'S PRAYER OK'D IN SCHOOL

A tentative agreement is reached to allow a kindergartner to pray out loud before snack time in the Saratoga Springs School District.

As part of the agreement, six-year-old Kayla Broadus can't invite other students to pray with her.

Dear God:
Why didn't you save the school children at . . .

a.. Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96
b.. Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
c.. Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
d.. West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
e.. Stamps, Arkansas 12/15/97
f.. Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
g.. Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
h.. Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
i.. Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
j.. Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98
k.. Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
l.. Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
m.. Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
n.. Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
o.. Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
p.. Santee, California 3/5/01 and
q.. El Cajon, California 3/22/01?

Sincerely,
Concerned Student

Dear Concerned Student:
I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,
God

Perhaps when she is older she can say this prayer. Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore because the word "God" is mentioned....a kid in Arizona wrote the attached NEW School prayer. I liked it....

Prayer From A High School Kid

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.

In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

Where again does it say "Separation of Church and State" in the Constitution? Because I seem to have missed that bit.

What I DIDN'T miss, though, is this part.

AMENDMENT I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Seems pretty obvious that not letting this or any other child pray in school is both prohibiting the free exercise of their religion as well as abridging their freedom of speech. Just wish the courts would actually bother reading the Constitution before making their rulings.

Where again does it say "Separation of Church and State" in the Constitution? Because I seem to have missed that bit.

I fear you have mistaken me for someone else but since you have let me add my comments.

I will highlight a different portion of the First Amendment than you to make the similar point that there is no provision for separation of church and state in the Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Now here is where the problem begins regarding a discussion about government control over prayers in the public schools. The first question to ask is where in the Constitution is the enumerated power granting the government any reason to be involved in public education. The answer is that there is no such power. However, when the nation’s citizens acknowledged the creation and funding of the Department of Education the power was granted in a de facto fashion. That is to say, by letting it go unchallenged it became acceptable. This now establishes a connection between the federal government and public education.

Once you enter into a discussion about the government and public schools on any issue, you have further acknowledged the government’s power to be a part of the public schools. Since the government is involved in the funding of public schools, it is automatically involved in the peoples and the states business. The time to have complained about the foolishness of violating the Constitution was in 1980 when the Department of Education was created. Now the nation is not only up against a corrupt government but also a corrupted teachers union. The nation’s children are the evidence of the folly of government involvement in public education.

The Department of Education is but a single example of the citizen's turning over their rights to special interest. Although not as tragic as what the nation has done to its children review the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. It is sad we were not a little more specific on what it was we wanted protected. Sadder still is that it cannot be reversed.

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