various media reports indicate that the wbts often employs the services of a large number of lawyers and i have seen it suggested that some of the top legal minds amongst them are in fact jehovahs witnesses.. since a qualified and experienced lawyer will have been trained in the art of digging out and scrutinising factual information, how come these people are jw?s?
if they applied their training, to the lest extent, to an examination of "the truth" (tm) it would quickly be seen as a load of bull puckey, even by a halfwit.
it could not possibly stand up to proper scrutiny by a person trained and qualified in the legal profession.
Out -
You have a point - to a degree (no pun intended!) However, remember, that one must obtain a Bachelor's Degree before being admitted to law school. And I don't know of any college that does not require some form of Critical Thinking classes in order to obtain that degree. So, although the WT lawyers are trained as you say, they are also educated!
Just curious - why do you type in allcaps?!
growedup
this guy just has no life!!!!
from: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040615/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_pledge_of_allegiance&cid=558&ncid=716.
court allows 'under god' on technicality .
This guy just has no life!!!!
Court Allows 'Under God' on Technicality
| 38 minutes ago |
By ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday allowed millions of schoolchildren to keep affirming loyalty to one nation "under God" but dodged the underlying question of whether the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional blending of church and state.
| ||||||||
The ruling overturned a lower court decision that the religious reference made the pledge unconstitutional in public schools. But the decision did so on technical grounds, ruling the man who brought the case on behalf of his 10-year-old daughter could not legally represent her.
It was an anticlimactic end to an emotional high court showdown over God in the public schools and in public life. It also neutralizes what might have been a potent election-year political issue in which the Bush administration argued strongly that the reference to God should remain part of the pledge.
The outcome does not prevent a future court challenge over the same issue, however, and both defenders and opponents of the current wording predicted that fight will come quickly.
For now, five justices said the court could not rule on the case because California atheist Michael Newdow does not have full custody of his daughter.
"When hard questions of domestic relations are sure to affect the outcome, the prudent course is for the federal court to stay its hand rather than reach out to resolve a weighty question of federal constitutional law," Justice John Paul Stevens ( news - web sites ) wrote for the majority.
Newdow, who has fought a protracted custody battle with the girl's mother, was angered by the decision and the basis for it.
"She spends 10 days a month with me," he said. "The suggestion that I don't have sufficient custody is just incredible."
Three other justices went along with the outcome, but seemed to accuse the majority of using Newdow's legal standing as a fig leaf to avoid the harder constitutional issue. The three, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor ( news - web sites ) and Clarence Thomas ( news - web sites ), made clear that they would have upheld the religious reference.
The court's ninth justice, Antonin Scalia ( news - web sites ), removed himself from the case after making off-the-bench remarks that seemed to telegraph his view that the pledge is constitutional.
The phrase "one nation under God" is more about ceremony and history than about religion, Rehnquist wrote. He likened the phrase to the motto "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, and to the call that opens each session of the high court itself: "God save this honorable court."
"All these events strongly suggest that our national culture allows public recognition of our nation's religious history and character," Rehnquist wrote.
Nathan Diament, policy director for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, said most Americans would be relieved by the ruling.
"There is a consensus in this country that there is an appropriate place for expressions of religion in the public square," Diament said.
The First Amendment guarantees that government will not "establish" religion, wording that has come to mean a general ban on overt government sponsorship of religion in public schools and elsewhere.
The Supreme Court already has said schoolchildren cannot be required to recite the oath that begins, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America." The court also has repeatedly barred school-sponsored prayer from classrooms, playing fields and school ceremonies.
Before 1954, when the United States was in the middle of the Cold War, the pledge did not include a reference to God. In adding it, members of Congress said they wanted to set the United States apart from "godless communists."
In a ruling last year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ( news - web sites ) in San Francisco said the language of the First Amendment and the Supreme Court's precedents make clear that tax-supported schools cannot lend their imprimatur to a declaration of fealty to "one nation under God."
That decision set off a national uproar and would have stripped the reference to God from the version of the pledge said by about 9.6 million schoolchildren in California and other Western states covered by the appeals court.
Children were never barred from saying the full pledge, because the lower court ruling was on hold while the Supreme Court considered the issue.
Like most elementary school children, Newdow's daughter hears her teacher lead the pledge each morning. The case began when Newdow, a lawyer, doctor and self-proclaimed atheist minister, sued his daughter's Sacramento-area school district, Congress and President Bush ( news - web sites) to remove the words "under God."
In one of the many odd twists to an odd case, Newdow served as his own lawyer when the Supreme Court heard arguments in March. He argued that each day his daughter hears the pledge is another day that a teacher tells her, in effect, that her father is wrong.
The mother, Sandra Banning, told the court in legal filings that she makes the decisions about the girl's education. Newdow can fight the pledge on his own, but should not drag their daughter into it, Banning argued. She added that she supports leaving the pledge as it is, and wants her daughter to continue reciting it at school.
The case is Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 02-1624.
___
On the Net:
Ruling in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow: http://wid.ap.org/documents/scotus/040614newdow.pdf
various media reports indicate that the wbts often employs the services of a large number of lawyers and i have seen it suggested that some of the top legal minds amongst them are in fact jehovahs witnesses.. since a qualified and experienced lawyer will have been trained in the art of digging out and scrutinising factual information, how come these people are jw?s?
if they applied their training, to the lest extent, to an examination of "the truth" (tm) it would quickly be seen as a load of bull puckey, even by a halfwit.
it could not possibly stand up to proper scrutiny by a person trained and qualified in the legal profession.
Thanks, Euph, for posting on this thread! Especially since you were my "source" I was referring to!
Also, a clarification! What I meant to say earlier is that it is easier to fight issues directly related to Constitutional issues such as Freedom of Religion than it is to defend some guy who robbed a convenience store. The Constitution is the cornerstone of our law - and therefore, any issue which specifically threatens it is easier to argue than something that has an element of "doubt". This does not make WT lawyers any better than any other lawyer - it just gives gives them more leverage when in trial. All they have to do is cite "Freedom of Religion" and the case is practically sealed. The ghetto kid who robbed the convenience store does not have that luxury - and neither does his lawyer!
BTW - here is the link of the WT financing an investment for a WT lawyer named James McCabe.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/11/61977/1.ashx
growedup
Jan -
You're not a dummy! You just gotta learn your way around is all!
:-)
growedup
Hi Janelle!
Nice talking to you in chat tonight! Be sure to come back often!!!
:-)
imallgrowedup
have any of you ever had your child (or know of a child) who decided to experiment with foreign objects and how they may or may not fit into bodily orifices?!
well, today, my child did!
since today is "no tv sunday," my son was bored to tears, as he is every sunday when we will not allow him to watch the television.
Fortunately children are resilient
Let's hope his ear drum proves to be just as resilient!!!!
growedup
earlier on this evening, i packed sarny's, took a bottle of drink with me, camera and headed off to the far west to the cove at porthcurno, one of my particular favourite stretches of coastline around here, porthcurno is the place from which the very first transatlantic cables were laid from connecting the uk to the usa.
just to the left of the very pretty cove, with the finest possible sand is the incredible and visually stunning minack theatre, a 750 seater amphitheatre carved straight from the cornish granite cliff from whence the views are staggering, next on to lands end via polgigga and trethewey, a few miles after which the setting of the sun between cape cornwall and lands end itself.
the lighthouse picture is the longships, with the scilly isles in the very far distance, beyond that is the usa, i waved to you all from here, the most westerly point in the country.. as per usual to enlarge pictures, click on them, they only take a second or so to load, then hover your cursor over the bottom right side and if a directional icon shows up, click again to make even bigger.. hope you all enjoy them as much as the pleasure i had earlier this evening walking by myself these cliffs and sands.. hugs to all you ruddy balmpots!
Celtic -
You have a gift for photography! I especially like the photos you took of the sunset! Thanks for sharing!
growedup
have any of you ever had your child (or know of a child) who decided to experiment with foreign objects and how they may or may not fit into bodily orifices?!
well, today, my child did!
since today is "no tv sunday," my son was bored to tears, as he is every sunday when we will not allow him to watch the television.
Yes! A vacuum was my first thought, too - however, I was afraid of sucking his little ear drum right out with the popcorn kernel! Interestingly enough, that is what the "capable" ER doctor used - (however, he called it "suction" which is just a fancy term for a medical instrument which will "SUCK the money right out of your pockets"!) LOL! What a ditz this guy was! He kept jamming the narrow tube into my son's ear and pushing the kernel in farther! (I'm afraid to even think about what this guy might be like with a scalpel! Yikes!!!!)
As far as the plant growing out of his ear, Elsewhere, my husband had already beaten you to it! I would never have dreamed of saying anything like that to him because I thought it would freak him out, but he took it in stride! Apparently, he doesn't care if a corn stalk starts sprouting out of his ear - although I imagine that at harvest time, (or when trying to walk through doorways!) he might change his mind!!!
FMZ and Dan-O, I just LOVE "corny" humor - thanks for the laughs!!!!!
Shotgun - What?! Are you the Food Police or somethin'?! There's nutrition in them thar kernels!!!!! (And btw - the name is "Thelma" - can't you keep your gangster chicks straight?!!!!!) LOL!
Special K - Man! I sure wish popcorn kernels were magnetic like those screws - sure would have saved a whole lotta trouble!
growedup
have any of you ever had your child (or know of a child) who decided to experiment with foreign objects and how they may or may not fit into bodily orifices?!
well, today, my child did!
since today is "no tv sunday," my son was bored to tears, as he is every sunday when we will not allow him to watch the television.
Have any of you ever had your child (or know of a child) who decided to experiment with foreign objects and how they may or may not fit into bodily orifices?! Well, today, my child did! Since today is "No TV Sunday," my son was bored to tears, as he is every Sunday when we will not allow him to watch the television. So what did he do to pass the time away?! He decided to see what would happen if he placed unpopped popcorn kernels in his ears! Of course, being the independent child that he is, once he realized that they would get stuck, he decided to perform his own "extraction" procedure by placing a Q-tip into his ear canal and pressing on the popcorn kernel! (As if it would come out the other ear, I suppose!) Needless to say, this resulted in a trip to the emergency room, whereby the doctor only managed to shove it even further into his ear! So, now we have to make a trip to the Ear specialist, where it is quite likely he will have to undergo surgery!
Comment from son while in emergency room:
Son: (sniffing and trying to act very brave) "Mommy, I'm a very lucky boy!"
Me: (wondering how he could possibly consider needing ear surgery as "lucky") "And how is that?"
Son: (between sniffs) "Because the one I put in my other ear fell out"!!!
Me: (to self) "You better believe it, kid"!!!!!
I think we will do away with "No TV Sundays" from here on in!
growedup
well i finally transferred the photos of gandson matthew to this computer and uploaded them to a site.. .
45 minutes old (previously posted).
grandma, mom, sister and new baby brother.
LL -
Oh! What an absolutely beautiful baby! Doesn't have the wrinkly new-born look at all! And you look like such a proud grandma, too! What a lucky baby to have you in it's life!!!
I tend to agree with you - the parents are probably going to give you the "what for" if they find out you posted that last hilarious pic on the web!
Congratulations! And thanks for sharing............!
growedup
