ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL TWADDLE :

Federal appeals court declares Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional (DAVID KRAVETS, June 26, 2002, Associated Press)

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion and cannot be recited in schools.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 1954 act of Congress inserting the phrase "under God" after the words "one nation" in the pledge. The court said the phrase violates the so-called Establishment Clause in the Constitution that requires a separation of church and state.

"A profession that we are a nation `under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation `under Jesus,' a nation `under Vishnu,' a nation `under Zeus,' or a nation `under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion," Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote for the three-judge panel.

And I quote : "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." That's it. That's the religious provision of the First Amendment in its entirety. Note the lack of any language about a "separation of church and state" or about an "endorsement" of religion. The Establishment Clause, it should come as no surprise to say, actually refers to an "establishment" of religion, which such generic language as "under God" in no wise accomplishes.

It is hard for me to to believe that America wouldn't be a better place if we turned al Qaeda loose in the 9th Circuit's chambers for about an hour.

UPDATE :

Here's Professor Volokh's take.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 26, 2002 3:21 PM