25. mars 2004

Those two difficult words The Supreme Court is discussing the whether the pledge of allegiance, including the words "under God," is unconstitutional. The atheist, father, doctor and lawyer Michael Newdow, being his own oral advocate, apparently did a great job in the courtroom, even managed to draw applause when he pointed out that Congress unanimously adopted the new wording was that no atheist could be elected to Congress (Rehnquist was not amused by the disturbance). On the facts, it is rather astonishing that a court can debate whether the phrase "one nation under God" is religious. Of course it is! This case is still totally open, however. If you'll allow me to be so bold to say so [who should stop you? You have no editor-ed. Good point!], the outcome depends on whether the Supreme court is couragious enough to risk the rage of the majority of Americans to uphold the constitutional separation of church and state. 11:48:34 PM    comment []  trackback []

Beyond passion, there is humour Monty Python has chosen this moment to rerelease in the US its legendary religious satire The Life of Brian as an antidote to the religious hysteria over Mel Gibson's deicide splatter movie The Passion of the Christ. 10:50:56 PM    comment []  trackback []

There goes the neighbourhood I wondered if it was a parody at first, but it was a bit too dull. Folks, Noam Chomsky has gotten his own blog, Turning the Tide. 8:27:19 PM    comment []  trackback []

ETA vs al-Qaeda Jose Maria Aznar answers the left's charges that his government "lied" about the 3/11 Madid bombing. It is very obvious from the facts who really politicised the tragedy before the victims were even cold. Aznar's defense is low key and doesn't return his opponets word in kind, but he does point out that everybody should be opposed to terrorism, as it is an attack on us all. It is precisely for this reason that we must not send out confusing messages, messages that induce people to believe that we have to make concessions to those demanding that we kneel before bombs. This is not the moment to think about withdrawals of troops. And much less when the terrorists, with their message of death and destruction, have demanded that we surrender. To yield now would set a dangerous precedent that would allow our attackers to believe that they have imposed their conditions on us. It would allow our attackers to believe that they have won. They have. And they do. Link from Bjørn Stærk. 3:33:46 PM    comment []  trackback []

African uranium mine outside control The Shinkolobwe uranium mine in the war torn Democratic Republic of Congo is officially shut down and the area closed, but a journalist found 6,000 miners at work there. The uranium is illegaly sold at the international market, and the IAEA is very concerned. "We're very concerned. Congo is obliged to report any uranium mining activities as well as exports," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told the BBC's Newshour programme. This is the mine that produced the uranium used to make the fission material for the two nuclear bombs dropped over Japan in 1945. Now, if the words "uranium ore" and "Africa" rings some faint bell, just ignore it. That is just lies from the warmonging crowd. Basta! 1:58:18 PM    comment []  trackback []

County bans all marriage Oregon's Benton County, totally confused by the ongoing debate about gay weddings, has decided that they want to embrace totally equal rights, by banning marriage altogether. Initially having decided to start issuing licences to gay couples, the county reversed after considering the threat of lawsuits. So now the small county has decided to err at the side of caution and issue no marriage licenses at all. Residents will now have to go to other counties to tie the knot. There you have it! How can the sanctity of marriage be better uphold by making it rare and hard to obtain? 11:41:15 AM    comment []  trackback []

Is it only me? Have others experienced that their leftist acquintances are getting increasingly hostile to everything deviating from their gospel as we approach the US elections? At other times, they may see your points as you see theirs, in a friendly and polite discussion. Now, however, you're treated with utmost hostility at the mere mention that something Bush did was actually half sane. It's going to be a long campaign. 4:15:49 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2004 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.04.2004; 02:27:19.