Word: newdow
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Arguing before the Supreme Court that the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance violates the separation of church and state, DR. MICHAEL NEWDOW did a pretty good job for a nonpracticing lawyer. The physician and atheist, who brought the original suit (a California court ruled in his favor), sparred ably with the Justices and even drew applause at one point--before Chief Justice William Rehnquist threatened to clear the courtroom...
When an agnostic Californian father, Michael A. Newdow, won a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in June 2002, the San Francisco court guaranteed that his 9-year-old daughter would not be subjected to the daily ritual of reciting “under God” in the closing of the pledge. For the states under the Ninth Circut Court, the ruling retired the requirement that public school teachers lead students in the pledge. Now, after the subsequent uproar, the Supreme Court has decided to take the case and consider the constitutionality...
...while waiting in line to buy soap at a grocery store that Newdow, a lifelong atheist born in the Bronx, began his linguistic crusade. Noticing that all his coins and notes had "in God we Trust" written on them, he decided to use his University of Michigan legal training to sue the government for removal of the phrase. After a bit of research, Newdow decided it would be easier to protest the pledge of allegiance by claiming he didn?t want his daughter to say "under God," even though she wasn?t in school at the time. He lost while...
...that Newdow believes for a moment he has won. He shrugs off Washington's reaction to his case - "I?m disappointed in all of them. They all swore an oath to a God-free constitution,"- and fully expects to take his Sisyphian struggle up to the Supreme Court. There, of course, he plans to launch a separate campaign against the ceremonial opening words. "When they say 'God save this court,?" he says, "the first word out of my mouth will be 'objection!?" The half-dozen other suits he has in motion - against the family law, against Franklin Graham?s prayer...
...there are simpler things to attend to. Night is falling, and Newdow has to call his daughter. "Hey, sugar, it?s Daddy," he whispers into the phone. "Love you, miss you, kiss you goodnight." A burly teenager knocks at the door. "Are you the man?" he says. Newdow concedes that he probably is. "You don?t have to worry about anything," says the unknown teen. "Okay," Newdow smiles as he closes the door, "now I'm worried." And he sits back down with his guitar, singing a song he penned himself - the Pledge Of Allegiance Got Some Old Religion Blues...