Pledge ruling = junk justice

[DesertFox]

NY Post

A Left Coast federal-court decision shooting down the Pledge of Allegiance was slammed yesterday as "junk justice" by lawmakers and leaders from New York and around the country.
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco took exception to the words "under God" - added to the Pledge by Congress in 1954 - saying the phrase violated the separation of church and state.

In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, the court's timing couldn't have been worse.

"This takes junk justice to a new height," said Gov. Pataki. "It's unbelievable. Absolutely, this should be appealed."

If it stands, the shocking ruling that the Pledge violates the constitutional separation of church and state means schoolchildren can no longer recite the Pledge, a fixture in American classrooms since 1942, at least in the nine affected West Coast states.

The rest (http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/51379.htm)

This ruling was so bad, even Pataki can tell.

[DesertFox]

Nixon appointee is the asshole

A Republican appointee was one of three federal appeals court judges who yesterday ruled it is unconstitutional to ask school children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and vow loyalty to one nation "under God."

Judge Alfred T. Goodwin, who wrote the 33-page opinion, was appointed to the bench by President Nixon in 1971 and is listed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals records as a senior member of the court.

Judge Goodwin was joined in the 2-1 decision by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who was appointed by President Carter in 1980. Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez, who dissented from the ruling, was appointed by President Bush in 1989.

The rest (http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020627-80765066.htm)