Subject: And if an atheist does get elected . . .
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 16:38:59 -0500
From: "Neal [delete]
To: me
I guess this proves Mike Newdow's claim that no atheist can get
elected ( if anymore proof is needed).
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http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/%5Cnews.aspx?id=15024
Colorado town trustee ousted over Pledge flap
By The Associated Press
03.24.05
ESTES PARK, Colo. — A town trustee who refused to stand up and recite
the Pledge of Allegiance during board meetings because it includes the
phrase "under God" was voted out of office during a recall election
March 22.
David Habecker lost the recall election by a 3-2 margin, with 903
votes in favor of removing him from office to 605 in favor of keeping him.
Habecker, who earlier expressed confidence that voters would keep him
in office, said he was surprised. The 54-year-old businessman has said
the reference to God in the pledge runs contrary to his religious beliefs.
"That's what it's come down to in this country," Habecker said after
the votes were tallied. "If you aren't a Christian, you are not a
patriot. These are the conclusions that are being made out there and
they are wrong, wrong, wrong."
Habecker is a 12-year member of the governing board of the resort town
that is a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.
The campaign to recall Habecker and his failed effort to block the
election with a lawsuit have turned his personal values into fodder
for public debate. The scrutiny started in May, when the board began
reciting the pledge after Trustee Lori Jeffrey-Clark suggested it
would show respect for the country during wartime.
Habecker was caught off guard but rose and recited the pledge,
omitting the phrase "under God," according to his lawsuit. Habecker
became uncomfortable after several meetings and decided to remain
seated. He claims being forced to recite the Pledge or be voted out of
office violates his First Amendment right.
"That's what the people decided, but I think their decision is
unconstitutional," he said.
Habecker, who described himself as a free thinker, has said he is
patriotic and doesn't oppose the pledge's meaning. However, he said
the phrase "under God" violates his religious beliefs and is at odds
with the separation of church and state, according to the lawsuit he
filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.
In a March 2 ruling, federal Judge Edward Nottingham withdrew a
temporary injunction blocking the recall election. He said the recall
organizers did nothing wrong and that the town had remained neutral.
Nottingham said Habecker could pursue a lawsuit if he was recalled,
which Habecker said he was considering.
"I really don't know if I have much of a choice," he said on March 22.
"We've spent this much money fighting it that to let it go at this
point doesn't make sense. I've gone too far to back off."
Habecker said he has received e-mails and letters from across the
country since the dispute became public.
"I've talked to radio stations in Florida, New York and Ohio," he said.
Habecker attributes some of his trouble to bad feelings from past
political disputes, including the board's decision about a year ago
that removed the chamber of commerce as the operator of the town's
visitor center.
Some recall organizers have said Habecker turned his back to the flag
during the pledge, a claim Habecker denies.
"His activity was totally within his rights, and we respect that,"
said Norm Pritchard after the ruling on Habecker's lawsuit. "It was
the manner in which he did that, that wasn't up to the standards of a
town official."
"The inflammatory words, `that he's an unpatriotic *****' and all
those kinds of things being used against me were hard to overcome,"
Habecker said. "These are words that are said in coffee shops, and
people feed on those words.
"They have completely ignored my lifetime of service to my country and
my community."
The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892, but Habecker noted the
words "under God" were added in 1954 during Sen. Joe McCarthy's
pursuit of communists.
Estes Park, a mountain community about 60 miles northwest of Denver,
has about 5,500 residents.
Previous
Federal judge lifts order blocking recall election
Court rules Estes Park, Colo., residents have right to disagree with,
petition to recall town trustee who won't say Pledge. 03.03.05
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/%5Cnews.aspx?id=14914
***************************************************************
Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the U.S. and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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