Thursday, June 27, 2002

Still trying to clean up the template a bit. I'd like a cleaner way to go to stories, as well as to provide a back link from the story itself to the home page. Just a matter of figuring out all of these darn Radio templates. 10:04:46 PM

From The Register: MS patches Media Player secure music vulnerability. 9:26:19 PM

Don't pick your nose near the Metrodome. 360 degree controllable camera with some pretty decent zoom capabilites as well as a photo album where you can add snapshots. 1:56:44 PM

Here's a very good op/ed piece from the New York Times. Most important, the ruling trivializes the critical constitutional issue of separation of church and state. There are important battles to be fought virtually every year over issues of prayer in school and use of government funds to support religious activities. Yesterday's decision is almost certain to be overturned on appeal. But the sort of rigid overreaction that characterized it will not make genuine defense of the First Amendment any easier.. The part that I'm confused about -- and where I see the real heart of the issue -- is the mandatory nature of the pledge. According to this piece, there was a 1943 Supreme Court ruling that stated it was unconstitional to compel school students to salute the flag. Here's a summary: The Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional a state law which compelled school students to salute the United States flag. The school board had expelled students that were Jehovah's Witnesses for their conscientious refusal to salute the flag, even though they stood respectfully during the ceremony. The Supreme Court decided that exemption from such ceremony was guaranteed under the constitutional right of freedom of speech and religion. It determined that forcing conformity would only be detrimental to the state, resulting in "the unanimity of the graveyard." Okay. Fine. But what about this article from CNN in February that states "half the states now require the pledge as part of the school day?" Or this graphic (Flash required) from the local paper? I've yet to see much in the way of commentary that addresses the contradiction between a 1943 ruling, the addition of two words in 1954 (which, for all I know, may have been a reaction to the 1943 ruling), and the fact that in 26 states, kids are required to participate (stand and face the flag, even if you don't say the words) in a daily ceremony that affirms ones loyalty to both God and Country. 1:44:04 PM