Posted on 06/26/2002 4:26:22 PM PDT by Saundra Duffy
***BREAKING NEWS*** Religion in Public Schools:
under God Pledge Out; Prayer to Allah In?
In the same week that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held the words under God in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, a federal lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Monday after Christian students across California were forced to pretend they were Muslims for three weeks, praying in the name of Allah the Compassionate the Merciful, chanting Praise to Allah, picking a Muslim name from a list to replace their own name and to stage their own Jihad via a dice game.
The Thomas More Law Center, representing parents and four children, filed the lawsuit against the Byron Union School District and various school officials to stop the use of the Islam Simulation materials in the Byron/Excelsior Public School in Byron, California.
Whats at issue is the true meaning of the Establishment Clause. The use of the words under God in the Pledge of Allegiance in no way establishes a national religion. However, the Byron Union school district crossed the line and clearly is in violation of the Establishment clause by using taxpayer dollars to teach students how to worship as a Muslim.
At issue in the lawsuit is a three-week segment of the seventh grade World History class using the textbook Across the Centuries published by Houghton Mifflin and supplemented by Islam simulation materials. Students were told that, you and your classmates will become Muslims.
To receive points toward their overall grade, students were encouraged to dress as Muslims and to use such phrases in their speech as Allah Akbar, which is Arabic for God is great. Students were required to memorize Muslim prayers, fulfill the Five Pillars of Faith and fast during lunch period to simulate fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Furthermore, parents with children in this course were totally caught off guard and had no idea what their children were being taught.
This is unbelievable. While public schools prohibit Christian students from reading the Bible, praying, displaying the Ten Commandments, and even mentioning the word God, students in California are being indoctrinated into the religion of Islam. Public schools would never tolerate teaching Christianity in this way. Just imagine the ACLUs outcry if students were told that they had to pray the Lords Prayer, memorize the Ten Commandments, use such phrases as Jesus is the Messiah, and fast during Lent.
Although it is constitutional for public schools to have an instructional program about comparative religion or teach about religion and utilize religious books such as the Bible in courses about our history and culture, the Byron Union School District crossed way over the constitutional line when it coerced impressionable twelve year olds to engage in particular religious rituals and worship, simulated or not.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities. The Center provides its services at no charge, and is dependent upon individual donations, foundations, and corporations for financial support. The IRS recognizes the Center as a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax deductible. You may contact the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit its website at
www.thomasmore.org .
The Thomas More Law Center is funded by the generous contributions of individuals, corporations, and foundations. To contribute online via our secure online transaction form, please visit:
www.thomasmore.org
A few reasons why "Ithaca is the City of Evil":
Ithaca is home to two colleges, Cornell U (aptly nick-named "the Big Red") and Ithaca College (which flies the gay flag over its campus), the two major employers in the area. They insure that a disproportionate amount of "ivory tower liberals" dominate the city.
A few typical Ithacans:
Locating copies of National Review or the American Spectator requires a trip out of town, while Ithaca magazine racks remain well-stocked with copies of The Progressive, and The Nation.Readers interested in exposing themselves to a full range of national opinion are simply out of luck.
As a result of this dominiance, politics in Ithaca runs the gamet from "liberal" to "communist." For years, the town had an openly socialist mayor. They later elected him to the school board.
Even today, the City and County governments are dominated by democrats and Green party members. Ithaca is so "Green" that Ralph Nader got more votes in Ithaca than George W. Bush, and the NYS Green Party is holding its 2002 nominating convention there. The current Chair of the County Legislature is a radical former anti-war protester, self-described hippie, who says "My values haven't changed, just my tactics."
As a result, we get lunacy like spending $500,000 to install solar panels on the new library (in cold, dark, upstate NY). Even law enforcement is subject to political correctness. The outgoing police chief's major concern was "pushing for departmental diversity." The acting chief was chosen simply because they wanted a woman.
To make matters worse, the liberals who dominate Ithaca work overtime to impose their ultra liberal agenda on the area children. The School District has mandated that elementary school students in the first and second grades be graded on how well they "respect others of varying cultures, genders, experiences, and abilities." It's even listed on the schools' report card. Despite this alleged tolerance, a student who was found reading the bible on her lunch hour was chatised for doing so. Another was directed not to bring a book about Christmas to school.
There's even a taxpayer funded "alternative" (ie, hippie) school that let's students graduate in majors like basket weaving and political activism, and has a convicted cop killer as its graduation speaker.
These schools churn out "educated idiots," who are so liberal, they write editorials that argue "Bin Laden is Human too."
Need more proof? Do a search for "Ithaca" here at FR. You'll see a near daily dose of institutionalized, unfettered, liberal idiocy.
As a result of its unfettered liberalism, Ithaca was voted most enlightened (ie, liberal) city in America by the ultra left Utne Reader. As a good, conservative Freeper, I'm sure you'll agree that, contrary to what Utne says, "liberal" is not "enlightened." Unfettered liberalism is, well, evil.
As the most liberal city in America,"Ithaca is the City of Evil."
Me, too. A little good news: The Republican Assembly Members (of which there are few) are united as we "speak" holding out against all odds, determined NOT TO PASS THE BUDGET! It's gonna be a battle royal. Go, Republicans!!!!
A Ditto BTTT!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.