WASHINGTON (AP) - An atheist who tried to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance lost a bid Friday to bar the saying of a Christian prayer at President Bush's inauguration.
U.S. District Judge John Bates said Michael Newdow had no legal basis to pursue his claim because he could not show he would suffer any injury from hearing the prayer.
Bates also ruled that Newdow's claim should be denied because he already had filed and lost a similar lawsuit at a federal appeals court in California last year.

Newdow argued that saying a Christian prayer at the Jan. 20 ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs.

Attorneys representing Bush and his inaugural committee argued that prayers have been widely accepted at inaugurals for more than 200 years and that Bush's decision to have a minister recite the invocation was a personal choice the court had no power to prevent.

AP-ES-01-14-05 1551EST

Link: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB6LKKUY3E.html

--One wonders if the judge informed Newdow that a television has an on/off switch as well as many different channels.

Now, can anything be done about the ACLU ..1.Their choice to represent the guy from NAMBLA, and 2.Making California remove the cross from their state seal...Thatdoesn't hurt anyone profusely, so why does it have to come down??

--One wonders if the judge informed Newdow that a television has an on/off switch as well as many different channels.


He actually has a ticket to this, which really baffles me to no end. Methinks he's planning to b*tch about it in person or something. :D

Newdow argued that saying a Christian prayer at the Jan. 20 ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs.



This man is a freak.  Exactly how does hearing a prayer force someone to accept unwanted religious beliefs?  If he is inclined not to believe, hearing a prayer won't make him believe.  Dude needs a hobby...there are tons of cases out there that really need to be heard and he is taking up court time with this garbage?

He actually has a ticket to this, which really baffles me to no end.

Did he vote for Bush?  I honestly don't know.

The problem isn't radicals such as Newdow, nor the mention of God here and there, such the Pledge or the currency. 

The problem is the radical Christian Right who won't be happy until mandatory teacher-led school prayer returns to the schools and the story of Adam and Eve is taught as fact. 

Michael Newdow is a pain in azz?  Maybe, but his corollary, the fanatically evangelical kooks, have gained vast stores of power in America.  Atheists are waaaay behind!

You want to talk about falling behind the rest of the world in science?  Just let the snake-handling bible-thumpers run the schools in your district.  These holy-rollers can't reconcile scientifict fact with religious faith any better than Newdow can deal with the American people's religious leanings.

We have much MORE to fear from the Christian Right than we have from Michael Newdow, the ACLU, and the liberal federal judges.

The problem isn't radicals such as Newdow, nor the mention of God here and there, such the Pledge or the currency. 

The problem is the radical Christian Right who won't be happy until mandatory teacher-led school prayer returns to the schools and the story of Adam and Eve is taught as fact. 

Michael Newdow is a pain in azz?  Maybe, but his corollary, the fanatically evangelical kooks, have gained vast stores of power in America.  Atheists are waaaay behind!

You want to talk about falling behind the rest of the world in science?  Just let the snake-handling bible-thumpers run the schools in your district.  These holy-rollers can't reconcile scientifict fact with religious faith any better than Newdow can deal with the American people's religious leanings.

We have much MORE to fear from the Christian Right than we have from Michael Newdow, the ACLU, and the liberal federal judges.


That was a nice little off-topic, anti-Christian rant.  Are you that mad that Michael Newdow keeps losing over and over again with lawsuits that cost the taxpayer money.  Newdow himself is a lawyer, shouldn't he know ahead of time that his chances of winning are near nothing?

As for liberal judges.  What happened to liberals and progressives (liberals afraid to call themselves liberals?)  In the 1920's the goal of the progressive movement was to make the railroads be under government control, the forests to be under the governments control, and among other things to stop the power of judges from overriding the legislative branch.  What happened to that part, why are liberals so in love with judges now?  Again, it all goes back to Rush Limbaugh, the left knows the judges are their last hope for a "progressive" world, since it is now obvious that they can't pass the laws they want through the legislative branch or at the ballot box with a referendum.  No, they use judges, just like in Massachusetts, since they know it was the only way to get what they want.  The fact is the left was willing to drop their own morals, will, and convictions in a trade-off for the mini-dictatorships we call the judges.

That was a nice little off-topic, anti-Christian rant. 

But Max's rant was NOT off topic, and your understanding of the Progressive Movement demonstrates a decided lack of historical understanding.  Oh, and by the way, you never did answer my question as to whether you ever read either Adam Smith or Karl Marx.  What's that about?

That was a nice little off-topic, anti-Christian rant.  Are you that mad that Michael Newdow keeps losing over and over again with lawsuits that cost the taxpayer money.  Newdow himself is a lawyer, shouldn't he know ahead of time that his chances of winning are near nothing?

As for liberal judges.  What happened to liberals and progressives (liberals afraid to call themselves liberals?)  In the 1920's the goal of the progressive movement was to make the railroads be under government control, the forests to be under the governments control, and among other things to stop the power of judges from overriding the legislative branch.  What happened to that part, why are liberals so in love with judges now?  Again, it all goes back to Rush Limbaugh, the left knows the judges are their last hope for a "progressive" world, since it is now obvious that they can't pass the laws they want through the legislative branch or at the ballot box with a referendum.  No, they use judges, just like in Massachusetts, since they know it was the only way to get what they want.  The fact is the left was willing to drop their own morals, will, and convictions in a trade-off for the mini-dictatorships we call the judges.

Don't you dare call me "anti-Christian."  I'm merely against the theocratic mentality prevalent among evangelicals.  I'm also against coercive social control imposed by blue nosed fuddy-duddies.  We used to have a big problem with that up here in Massachusetts!  Furthermore, I'm against the creeping return of Creationism insinuated by self-appointed culture warriors who would just as soon destroy public education altogether.
If I do hold any "anti-Christian" sentiments it is because the right-wing uses Christianity as a stalking horse for the obliteration of the social contract established in the 20th century.

The corporate-controlled media courts clowns like Newdow to misrepresent the "progressive" agenda because it suits their nefarious purposes.  Otherwise Newdow isn't worth a mouse f*rt!

What the Hell? Why does this guy keep trying? I'm glad he lost. I'm all for separation of Church-and-State, but SERIOUSLY. fudgeer.

This man is a freak.  Exactly how does hearing a prayer force someone to accept unwanted religious beliefs?  


I was wondering the same thing.

I guess Newdow didn't read the first amendment to the US 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 peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Oh boy.... the guy's not going to give up anytime soon is he?  ::) Kind of reminds of me of Wile E. Coyote!!!

I have more respect for Michael Newdow who wants NO religion at all in public life than all those rightwing hypocrites who want to slather the national dialogue in Christian rhetoric and at the same time raise the devil with their political priorities!
>:( ::)