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November 18, 2005
Why is it Called the Ninth Circus?
Well, here is a bit of clue. The Ninth Circuit court — the court that thinks that the word "god" should not be in the Pledge of Allegiance (despite its non-sectarian connotations) because it "promotes religion" — apparently thinks that the government forcing children to pretend to be Muslim (to the point of taking on Islamic names and reciting lines from an Islamic prayer and simulating fasting) does not promote religion.
While I don't think that parents have any automatic rights to control what is taught to their children in public schools or how — that is an administrative decision, and the school board and legislature are the places to argue that — it is quite pointedly the courts' responsibility (as it is every citizens' responsibility) to yank the government up short when it goes off violating the Constitution. And this clearly does violate the Constitution, based on the common meaning of the words in the First Amendment, and based on prior precedent from the courts (the 9th Circuit, ironically enough, in particular).
Maybe the court would have found the courage to rule correctly if the students had been similarly introduced to Judaism, or if the students had been required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance first.
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Comments
I am baffled by how anyone could tolerate the Ninth Circuit. That the majority of its judges haven't been removed (or worse) strikes me as the eighth wonder of the world.
Apparently that "separation of church and state" business applies solely to Christianity and Judaism.
Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at November 18, 2005 7:12 PM
Obviously it is now ok to role-play students by giving them biblical names, having them recite a line from the Lord's Prayer, and having them eat a cracker and a drink of juice to simulate taking Mass, right?
I wonder what the Islamic prayer said, i.e. did it invoke Allah or Mohammad?
Posted by: Brian Medcalf at November 19, 2005 2:36 AM