A 9th U. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Wednesday that the use of the words "under God" in the pledge to the American flag — routinely recited not just by students but also by Boy and Girl Scouts and by Congress to open its sessions — violates the constitution's First Amendment bar on the establishment of a state religion. In western Canada, President George W. Bush took time out from the summit meeting of leading industrialized democracies to sharply denounce the ruling as "ridiculous" and "out of step with the traditions and history of America. The country, he said, "values our relationship with the Almighty. He also vowed that his future judicial appointees would have to support the pledge's current language.

The Supreme Court at least temporarily preserved the phrase "one nation, under God," in the Pledge of Allegiance Monday, ruling that a California atheist could not challenge the patriotic oath. The procedural ruling did not directly address whether the pledge recited by generations of American schoolchildren is an unconstitutional blending of church and state. The court said the atheist could not sue to ban the pledge from his daughter's school and others because he did not have legal authority to speak for her. The father, Michael Newdow, is in a protracted custody fight with the girl's mother. He does not have sufficient custody of the child to qualify as her legal representative, eight members of the court said.

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User Name Remember Me? How sad that the court system has to waste time dealing with pussies like this. Supreme Court today ruled that a California atheist could not challenge the words "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The court said Michael Newdow, who is involved in a custody dispute with the mother of their third-grade daughter, did not have legal standing to bring the case. Last edited by pigpen!