have you heard: new texas flag pledge law!!!

[newsguyatl]

starting this year, a new law requires texas students to say not only the pledge of allegiance to the us flag, they must ALSO say a pledge to the texas flag! that's not all... the must THEN observe a minute moment of silence!! ((that time can be used to "reflect, pray or meditate.")) the ritual will happen in EVERY classroom in EVERY school in texas...

where the hell is the ACLU on this? i'd be outraged if i had a kid in the texas school district... but then again, it IS texas, guess we could expect something like this... (no offense to the texans on here)

cnn will have more on this later today... probably the end of the 1p ET hour...

[bowens43]

1. The Supreme court has already confirmed

that mandatory pledge to the flag is a violation of the constitution. The texas law will not stand.

On Edit: I have tried searching for the relevent ruling but haven't found it. Am I wrong on this?

On edit 2: Found it:

U.S. Supreme Court
WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION v. BARNETTE, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
319 U.S. 624

WEST VIRGINIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION et al.

[efhmc]

3. No, you are not. The repukes pushed this through, knowing it would

be struck down and the "liberals" would fight it and the Dems would once again be able to be labeled "unAmerican". By the way, I can bet you that 99% of those kids have never even heard of the Texas pledge which is "Honor the Texas Flag. I pledge allegiance to Thee-Texas, one and indivisible." BTW, I am a Texan, born, bred and raised here (never lived elsewhere) and had never heard of or done that pledge until I moved from the city to a small Texas town where they are always saying it. Also do not get the indivisible. Is someone trying to tear us apart (Of course the bushses but let's not even start on that.) Another funny thing. Are we suppose to be swearing allegiance to another flag besides the US? Heard Monday when school started on NPR out of Austin that kids with slips from home would be excused from saying the pledges, as though that will make a difference.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Good point.

There may be a few braindead Limbaughciles out there who think it's a good idea, but it's a just cheap ploy to show who the "real" Americans are.

The problem is that it works.

(We need some better PR people.)

[LondonReign2]

2. Must...find....a way..to leave

Gawd, I hate that I was forced to move to for my job to this religiously insane hellhole of a state.

[efhmc]

7. Where are you in Texas? There are many, many, many of us that do not

think or feel this way.

[mrbill]

10. texas is only a "hellhole" in the summer......

air conditioning cures that.

[LondonReign2]

16. Why in Texas?

My job. Basically needed to relocate here because my job in Chicago had disappeared.

And while I realize that "many many Texans" aren't religiously insane reich-wing nutters (thank god for Austin)--Boy Howdy there sure are a lot of them! And unfortunately they send a lot of them to Washington as well: DeLay, Shrub, Gramm, Armey, Hutchison, Cornyn---ack! It truly seesm to be home to the slimeball companies as well, topped off with Enron and Halliburton, though they only represent the tip of the iceberg.

I have never, ever seen a state so fervently shove its flag in people's faces either. Either the state is incredibly insecure and feels it needs to reiterate its "Great State of Texas" propaganda for fear that people will otherwise catch on to the fact that it ISN'T, or it is simply trying to brainwash its citizens.

[qb]

5. Try the Groening Pledge

MN has a sorta optional pledge law but it sucks because kids who choose to sit out may be ostracized. I have a niece who is transferring from a Catholic school to a public Jr. High this year. She describes herself as an atheist, and is unsure about how to deal with the pledge (mainly the "god" part). I sent her the Matt Groening version to try out - maybe she'll start a movement in her school!

"I pledge impertinence to the flag waving, of the unindicted co-conspirators of America, and to the republicans for which I can't stand, one abomination, underhanded fraud, indefensible, with Liberty and Justice...Forget it."

by Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, from "Life in Hell" cartoon.

[CO Liberal]

6. A Similar Law Was Just Shot Down Here In Colorado

I don't think the Texas law will last long, either.

[efhmc]

8. In the meanwhile we liberals are made to appear Godless and

unAmerican or worse here, unTexan!!! As if that phoney baloney blowhard carpetbagging idiot and his gang of henchmen are remotely connected with what it takes to be a real Texan or American or anything but selfish good for nothings.

[Fleshdancer]

9. 2 pledges and a moment of silence?

I was born and raised in TX and I didn't even know we had a pledge. Leave it to TX to ignore the real problem (horrible education) and focus on things that aren't going to help.

[efhmc]

14. See, me neither until I moved to a town of 7000 people and it is said

at the beginning of the meetings of 2 groups I belong to. What a crock.

[BurtWorm]

11. "I pledge allegience...to the Republicans...

of the former Republic of Texas...and to the flag...the Republicans own...one party...one state...under the thumb...of God and Tom Delay...amen."

[GOPisEvil]

12. Mix in something about Rick Perry's hair, and you're there! nt

[newsguyatl]

lol!

nice!

on edit: in reponse to burt worm's pledge

[newsguyatl]

13. lol!

nice!

[Fenris]

15. Hey! My sister told me about having to do this!

She just started her senior year on Monday and said that everyone was really confused and/or uninterested in this whole thing. She thought it was really stupid and a big waste of time and energy. She said all of the kids in her class were just looking around at the other kids, wondering what the hell they were supposed to be doing and when it was going to end. She said by the end of the minute, her teacher remarked about what a frigging waste of time it was. And I had the same guy my senior year, and he's a die-hard Republican!

As I understand it, the general opinion is that this is really, really useless.

[efhmc]

17. The teacher I heard interviewed on Monday were polite about it being

the law but sounded so exasperated, like they really needed some other stupid stuff to do.

[HootieMcBoob]

18. When do they have to start...

putting up the pictures of W in every classroom and forcing the kids to salute them. And the statues of W in every town square? Hmmm? When do they have to do all that stuff?