re: Eats, Shoots & Leaves page 13

I noticed God. "...that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom..."

And is 'earth' proper in this context?

John Dean
Oxford

John Dean filted:

I noticed God. "...that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom..."

And is 'earth' proper in this context?

For that matter, is "God" a name or a job title?...r

I guess the Ninth Circuit would proscribe the reading of this speech.

Bob Lieblich
The Supremes will reverse, and no one will understand their explanation

John Dean filted:

And is 'earth' proper in this context?

For that matter, is "God" a name or a job title?...r

Main Entry: proper noun
Function: noun
a noun that designates a particular being or thing, does not take a limiting modifier, and is usually capitalized in English called also proper name
Sounds like "God" fits the bill under that definition.
Brian Rodenborn

I guess the Ninth Circuit would proscribe the reading of this speech.

Since nobody today is presumably one of the "we here" that "highly resolve that ... this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom", I don't see what the problem would be with reading it.

The Supremes will reverse, and no one will understand their explanation

Frankly, I don't see what's so hard about the Pledge question. The phrase in question was inserted specifically to make atheists, qua atheists, uncomfortable(1), and now an atheist has come forward and said "This makes us uncomfortable because of our religious views and you're not supposed to do that". To reverse, the Court would presumably have to decide that it was, in fact, okay to intentionally discriminate against atheists because they are atheists.

(1) Commies were atheists, and therefore atheists were Commies and we wanted them to know that Real Americans were God-Fearing(2) and didn't think that way.
(2) It's interesting that it's typically the Old Testament that's trotted out (and reasonably so) when explaining why God should be feared, but the notion of actually "fearing" God seems foreign to what I know of Judaism. Sure, God might do something cataclysmic if enough people didn't do what they were supposed to, and sure, he might make people suffer for generations for what others did, but there doesn't seem to be the notion that you were supposed to worry that you specifically would be punished if you didn't follow this or that rule.

Evan Kirshenbaum + HP Laboratories >The law of supply and demand tells us
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 >that when the price of something isPalo Alto, CA 94304 >artificially set below market level,

Near the end... that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . . I presume that "God" is a proper noun.

I guess the Ninth Circuit would proscribe the reading of this speech.

Well, maybe not. I mean, how else can children be taught about that particular usage of "score"? So maybe the 9th Circuit would just be against forcing students to memorize and recite it which might be a relief to some of those affected.

Bob Lieblich The Supremes will reverse, and no one will understand their explanation

Or: The Supremes will not reverse, and no one will understand their explanation.
Maria Conlon

John Dean filted:

And is 'earth' proper in this context?

For that matter, is "God" a name or a job title?...r

Assuming it's a job title, can anyone tell us His real name?
Charles Riggs
My email address: chriggs/at/eircom/dot/net

John Dean filted: For that matter, is "God" a name or a job title?...r

Assuming it's a job title, can anyone tell us His real name?

Max.

Skitt (in SF Bay Area)
... and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. Sir Bedevere

Assuming it's a job title, can anyone tell us His real name?

Max.

The piece of paper Lincoln read from has not been recovered. Five or 6 copies made in Lincoln's hand are extant. The 'first' draft did not include the word "God".

Stuart