[anniegetyourgun]

Despite all their claims to the contrary, libs obviously hate children. I suppose it wouldn't have been a problem if the child brought pencils with a pentagram, ying/yang symbol, and so on, and so on.....

[Moose4]

Betcha he could've handed out pencils engraved with "Mohammed (heart) the little children...especially the little girls!"

}:-)4

[Political Junkie Too]

In 1998, Daniel Walz sought to distribute pencils inscribed with "Jesus [loves] the little children" -- with a heart symbol for the word "loves" -- to his pre-kindergarten classmates during a party in the classroom shortly before Easter.

Why did the teacher decide to have a party "shortly before Easter?" Why didn't they expect a student to bring in Easter gifts at a party so close to Easter? You can't have a party associated with a religious event and deny the religious aspect, even if the party is euphamistically named.

When will the schools rename the word "holiday" because holy days endorse religion? When will schools abandon calendars and the 7-day week because 7 days comes from Genesis?

-PJ -PJ

[feedback doctor]

I wonder if "Greenpeace" pencils were passed out, would the child doing so be stopped?

[Kuksool]

On the eve of the Iraqi War, a Muslim middle student in a Chicagoland school passed out flyers calling President Bush a racist war-monger. That particular school district initially suspended the boy for causing a dispution. However, the boy's mother threatened to sue, and the school district backed down. Later, the school administrators issued a statement to the local media that they support the free speech rights of students. I wonder how the NJ school officials would treat the Chicago case if it happened to them?

[freedomcrusader]

The opinion is here: Walz vs. Egg Harbor...

Seems the little guy is a subversive in the eyes of the three-judge panel:

...controverts the rules of a structured classroom activity with the intention of promoting an unsolicited message.

[freedomcrusader]

Also annoying is the fact that one of the three judges, Anthony Scirica, is a Reagan appointee. D. Brooks Smith, another author of this outrageous opinion, was appointed by W. to the third circuit and was bitterly opposed by the feminazis at NOW. The third judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, was a Klinton appointee.

[Dubya]

Good post bump.

[Gritty]

If the pencils said "Allah Loves His Children Who Slay The Infidels", there would be no problem with the Courts.

"Freedom of speech", ya know...!

[Kuksool]

It is fascinating that school districts are doing everything that they can to accomodate the religious practices of Muslim students. I wish school districts would do the same for students of other religions.
____________________________________________________-

WVW says prayer room decision will stand up in court

By Fred Ney , Citizens' Voice Staff Writer 09/19/2003


Wyoming Valley West School District officials are confident a decision they made to provide "a quiet place" for two Muslim students to pray was correct and will hold up in court if legally challenged.


Charles Suppon, director of pupil services, Tuesday acknowledged the district provided a place to pray in the State Street Elementary Center in Larksville and the Chester Street Middle School in Kingston at the request of the parents of two Muslim students.

Suppon said no district personnel would encourage or participate in prayer with the students. He stressed it would be up to the students to engage in prayer.

District Solicitor Michael Hudacek said the issue would be researched to insure the district is on solid legal ground.
Superintendent August Piazza penned a memo Thursday to WVW School Board members assuring them the decision was a good one.

"Courts have reviewed this in much detail," Piazza stated. "It has been concluded that as long as the school district does not promote, encourage or support this practice, it is permissible.

"Meditation has not interfered with instructional time of the student," he added. "In the future, if there is a change, it will be reviewed."

Literature enclosed for school directors' review included a statement from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

"Public schools are not permitted to sponsor worship, but that does not mean that they must be 'religion free zones.'
In order to clear up some of the misunderstandings about religion and the public schools, it is important for Americans to have the facts.

"... It's important that our public schools respect the beliefs of everyone and protect parental rights. The schools can best do this by not sponsoring religious worship. This principle ensures that America's public schools are welcoming to all children and leaves decisions about religion where it belongs ... with the family," it stated.

The group also referred to Engle versus Vitale, a 1962 Supreme Court case, in which justices ruled official prayer had no place in public education.

"This decision is widely misunderstood today. The court did not rule that students are forbidden to pray on their own; the justices merely said that government officials had no business composing a prayer for students to recite," the Americans United for Separation of Church and State literature points out.

"The Engle-Vitale case came about because parents in New York challenged a prayer written by a New York education board. These Christian, Jewish and Unitarian parents did not want their children subjected to state-sponsored devotions. The high court agreed that the scheme amounted to government promotion of religion," it continued.

The group contends, "Nothing in the 1962 or 1963 rulings makes it unlawful for public school students to pray or read the Bible (or any other religious book) on a voluntary basis during their free time. Later decisions have made this even clearer.

"In 1990, the high court ruled specifically that high school students may form clubs that meet during non-instructional time to pray, read religious texts or discuss religious topics if other student groups are allowed to meet," the group adds.

The statement concludes that "objective, balanced and non-devotional" approaches to religion "present no constitutional problem."

Another statement by the American Civil Liberties Union concludes it's all right to pray in school.

"Individual students have the right to pray whenever they want to, as long as they don't disrupt classroom instruction or other educational activities or try to force others to pray along with them," the ACLU statement reads.

"If a school official has told you that you can't pray at all during the school day, your right to exercise your religion is being violated. Contact your local ACLU for help."