A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that use of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the separation of church and state.
The 2-1 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest decision in a long-running legal campaign by Michael Newdow, a California atheist activist, to have “under […] Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday did us all a favor by declining to hear a case from Haskell County, Okla., concerning the display of the Ten Commandments on public property.
The case, Haskell County Board of Commissioners v. James Green, stems from 2004, when the county’s Board of Commissioners voted to allow a local pastor to erect […] Read More
Let’s close out the week with a selection of updates and news tidbits that you might have missed:
[…] Read More
Ah, Christmas! The time of year when our thoughts turn to decorated holiday trees, presents, eggnog and Albert Einstein.
Wait a minute – Albert Einstein?
Yep, the theoretical physicist and all-around super-genius has become an official part of the holiday season, at least in Arkansas. Einstein will appear in a Solstice display at the state capitol in Little Rock, thanks […] Read More
Part of my job here at Americans United is to correspond with the general public. Frequently I find myself engaged in answering the most basic of questions. I’m often explaining the significance of Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists wherein he coined the phrase “wall of separation between church and state.”
I also remind inquiring citizens that the […] Read More
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and you know what that means. Yes, the malls will be crowded, but this time of year also means an escalation in the battles over how public schools and government deal with Christmas.
Some disputes have already erupted. In Chambersburg, Pa., the borough council voted unanimously to ban most displays from a public square […] Read More
As president, one of Barack Obama’s most important tasks is making appointments to the federal courts.
The Senate has a role to play too. They are to “advise and consent.” If a judicial appointee is deemed unqualified, a majority of the Senate can vote him or her down.
Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Senate […] Read More
Prayers and patriotic songs reverberated through the air as I made my way to the Supreme Court yesterday morning. I exchanged a reticent glance with the police officer stationed outside the Library of Congress (just a block away), and he chuckled, as if to read my mind.
“Things are getting crazy over there,” he warned, as I […] Read More
I spent the morning at the Supreme Court attending oral arguments in Salazar v. Buono – a case focusing on a cross on display in the Mojave National Preserve in California.
I’m not going to pretend I understand all of the ins and outs of this complex case because I’m not a lawyer. I rely on AU’s legal team […] Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court is gearing up to come back into session Oct. 5, and just in time for that, Justice Antonin Scalia has decided to pop off in the media about how much he hates church-state separation – again!
In what is billed as an “Historic Exclusive Interview” in the Brooklyn-based Orthodox Jewish newspaper Hamodia, Scalia attacks […] Read More