Nightingale

um... News Flash: We can vote for anything we want, but if its unconstitutional, it still isn't legal.

according to the supreme court, who, over the lifespan of this country, has had several rulings that went against popular support or could be classified as controversial. among these: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Cantwell v. Connecticut Texas v. Johnson (1989) Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) Illinois vs. McCollum (1948) Engel vs. Vitale (1962) Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District (1969) University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978) Roe v. Wade (1973) Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) Marbury v. Madison (1803) Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

there may be a valid reason to keep it. However, the reason you listed ain't it. edit: a large portion of the population supported the Jim Crow laws. Popular support is also not a good reason to continue to do something, especially if popular support is the ONLY reason, particularly if our constitution specifies otherwise.

of course not. it does make "that's the way we've always done it" an invalid justification for continuing the pattern. by all means, continue to do something if there is valid reason for it. stop if there is reason to stop. however, doing something just because you always have is downright silly.

Well, people have kept slaves since the earliest historical records. However, we can pretty much all agree that slavery is the wrong way to go about things. Should we continue to keep slaves simply because its the way we've always done it?

students are not required to say the pledge. however, students are seldom informed of their right to abstain.

just because something has always been done a certain way does not make it the right thing to do.

if you don't know what to say, don't use words. Just give her a big hug.

yup. The Star-Spangled Banner is set to the tune of an English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven" To Anacreon in heaven where he sat in full glee, A few sons of harmony sent a petition, That he their inspirer and patron would be, When this answer arrived from the jolly old Grecian: Voice, fiddle aud flute, no longer be mute, I'll lend you my name and inspire you to boot! And besides I'll instruct you like me to entwine The myrtle of Venus and Bacchus's vine. The news through Olympus immediately flew, When old Thunder pretended to give himself airs, If these mortals are suffered their scheme to pursue, The devil a goddess will stay above stairs, Hark! already they cry, in transports of joy, A fig for Parnassus, to Rowley's we'll fly, And there my good fellows, we'll learn to entwine The myrtle of Venus and Bacchus's vine. The yellow-haired god, and his nine fusty maids, To the hill of old Lud will incontinent flee, Idalia will boast but of tenantless shades, And the biforked hill a mere desert will be, My thunder, no fear on't, will soon do its errand, And, damn me I'll swinge the ringleaders, I warrant I'll trim the young dogs, for thus daring to twine The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine. Apollo rose up and said, "Prythee ne'er quarrel, Good king of the gods, with my votaries below Your thunder is useless - then showing his laurel, Cried, Sic evitabile fulmen, you know! Then over each head my laurels I'll spread, So my sons from your crackers no mischief shall dread Whilst snug in their club-room, they jovially twine The myrtle of Venus and Bacchus's vine.

That's the fourth stanza. The entire poem: Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines on the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

God isn't referenced in the first verse of the National Anthem (which is the only part people know anyway) Edited to add: the first and only mention of God in the anthem isn't til verse 4.

if you have to stab someone four times, you don't know how to use your sword properly. Its a stupid ruling, though. he had reasonable cause to believe his life was in danger and defended himself accordingly. self defense.

And THAT is why I don't say the pledge.

Jaye- The pledge was edited back in 1954 to add in the words "Under God". The change was made by congress in a reaction to the socialism of the cold war. -N-

actually, I don't say it. But my choice not to say it has nothing to do with the "under God" line.

ROFLMAO!!!!! When I was a kid in Catholic school, instead of "Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem" we sang what made sense to us... "Agnes Da-ay, Kwee Told-it take a tumbleweed, donut no-bee pants-down" not that that made much more sense, but at least it was kinda English.

I think the original words of the Pledge are beautiful and needed no alteration. The original Pledge was something every American could be proud of.

what's the next camp date, Mel??

easy way to get a purple pro-tec. 1. buy a protec. any color will do. 2. call Robert at Ground Zero at Elsinore, and ask him how much it will cost for him to paint it purple (and maybe do something cool too!) or PM "Screwbag" on DZ.com. 3. send the helmet and cash to the address he gives you. 4. wait for a bit. 5. check your mailbox and collect box when it arrives. 6. open box 7. wear helmet!

a mustang cobra. the mustang convertable was almost as cool. did I mention I like mustangs?

"My Life As a Dog" directed by Lasse Hallstrom in Swedish, with subtitles http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000087EY5/102-4149986-7575330?v=glance AWESOME MOVIE!

1. You can have six skydives a day and still want more. you can do that with sex too, if you do it right. 2. Finding partners for skydiving is much easier Funny... I have WAY more trouble finding people who want to jump with me. 3. Skydiving is much safer, no diseases and no kids. hmm... does the word BOUNCE mean anything? 4. Finding good partners is much easier - everyone knows in advance how good a skydiver you are Well, girls compare notes, so chances are we know how good you are in bed too, especially if you've been with someone we know. 5. It's socially acceptable to do 4-ways, 8-ways, 16-ways... So you're saying orgies are a BAD thing????? 6. Everyone involved is usually satisfied or not with a skydive. and in both cases involves a careful selection of one's partner(s) to ensure mutual satisfaction. 7. You can ask skydivers if they've put on weight without offending them. well, you still have to be polite about it. LOL. 8. You rarely get told by your partner(s) that they've had enough. you mean that actually happens in bed???? hmmm... I don't recall ever saying anything like that! 9. Solo skydiving is not embarrassing. neither is solo sex. 10. Everyone is ugly in freefall. well, I guess you could always turn off the light. edited cause I can't spell!

I'm A+ Used to donate blood regularly. Got a new piercing and they won't let me donate for a year or so. After that, I'll be back donating again.

how agressive were you on your control check? at safety day, we were told to be really agressive and pull the toggles all the way on the control check, because if something's going to go wrong, you want the canopy to malfunction up high rather than at a couple hundred feet or lower. Sometimes people are very gentle on their control check, but then much more agressive when turning or landing, and canopy problems show up then, rather than up high. Dunno if that was the situation with you or not.

Sounds like he's got a good plan for his life. Encourage him to use the military programs that help soldiers get a college degree, because, if, after his enlistment is up, he decides re-enlisting isn't for him, he'll have the degree to fall back on when he chooses his next career. If he does decide to continue with his military service, once he gets his degree, the officer track is available to him also. I know it can't be easy to let your baby go, but remember that its the job of parents to give their children both roots and wings. His roots are the values you've taught him, and he'll take those with him wherever he goes as he tries out his new wings.