Christine O'Donnell is, sadly, not alone

Delaware GOP senate nominee, Christine O’Donnell, has shocked us once again, this time with her disbelief that the separation of church and state is guaranteed by the First Amendment. Her opponent, Chris Coons schooled her live in a debate, where the incredulous O’Donnell came to terms with the facts.

The rest of us learned something too, today. O’Donnell’s bold display of ignorance regarding some of the core values that make Americans American finally revealed why so many in the U.S. think we should be allowed to pray and teach creationism at public schools. It’s unconstitutional, but they never, ever knew!

American education has been the cause of hand-wringing over the decades. O’Donnell is the product of that education, writ large. In fairness, the fact that her Democratic opponent couldn’t name the other freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment should also be of concern. (Even older boys’ education is lagging?)

One could be forgiven for not knowing the details of the 9th Amendment, but Christ!, we’re talking about the First Amendment. The constitutional provision behind the classic kid rejoinder, “Hey, man, it’s a free country.” Continue reading »

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What do you mean separation of church and state?!

In a shocking exchange today, Republican candidate for Senate, Christine O’Donnell of Delaware, “questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion,” the AP reports.

In a debate in front of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School, O’Donnell’s opponent Chris Coons said, “private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that religious doctrine doesn’t belong in our public schools.”  (Something I’ve mentioned here on Strollerderby once or twice.)

O’Donnell’s reply?  ”Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?”  Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, and O’Donnell responded, “You’re telling me that’s in the First Amendment?” to a gasp from the well-informed crowd. Continue reading »

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The U.S. Constitution was signed in 1787

Today is Constitution Day, marking the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the document that laid the foundation for the United States of America.  And for students in public school, today is a government-mandated learning opportunity.

In 2004, Congress renamed the former “Citizenship Day” to “Constitution and Citizenship Day.”  At the urging of the late West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, the resolution included a requirement that educational institutions that receive Federal funds must hold an educational program on the Constitution on September 17 of each year. Continue reading »

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According to a 2-1 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, God is not religious.  At least, not when teachers instruct children that ours is a nation “under God” on a daily basis.  All across the state of California, schoolchildren line up every morning to profess their allegiance to the flag and the country “for which it stands”.  In 1954, however, the official pledge was changed to include the phrase “under God.”  A belief in God was a “characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life,” claimed Reverend George Docherty in a sermon that spurred President Eisenhower to action to have the pledge modified.

Continue reading »

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There’s nothing that gets me more riled than someone constricting the freedoms of the press. Except maybe the president of the United States trying to repress the press.

President Obama has inflamed White House photographers yet again over his on-again, off-again rules for photographing the first kids. Continue reading »

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