posted 06-26-2002 03:49 PM            

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, said the words violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which requires a separation of church and state.
"A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion," Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote for the three-judge panel.

The Pledge of Allegiance was codified by Congress in 1942 as: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In 1954, it was changed to read: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

An ‘Unacceptable Choice’ Between Participating and Protesting

In its ruling, the court said the U.S. Supreme Court has said students cannot hold religious invocations at graduations and cannot be compelled to recite the pledge. But being forced to listen to others make the pledge creates an "unacceptable choice between participating and protesting," the appeals court said.

"Although students cannot be forced to participate in recitation of the pledge, the school district is nonetheless conveying a message of state endorsement of a religious belief when it requires public school teachers to recite, and lead the recitation of, the current form of the pledge," the court said.

The case was brought by Michael A. Newdow, an atheist whose daughter attends a public school in California.

Newdow acknowledged that his daughter was not required to say the pledge in school. But he claimed her rights were violated when she was compelled to "watch and listen as her state-employed teacher in her state-run school leads her classmates in a ritual proclaiming that there is a God, and that our's [sic] is 'one nation under God.' "

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over California, Oregon, Washington state, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii.

The court's decision will not take effect for several months and the government will have an opportunity to ask the court to reconsider its decision, or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We are certainly considering seeking further review in the matter," Justice Department lawyer Robert Loeb said.

The case is Newdow vs. U.S. Congress.

posted 06-26-2002 06:12 PM            

[The Pledge of Allegiance was codified by Congress in 1942 as: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

posted 06-26-2002 09:02 PM               

quote:

---

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

---

The above words should be familiar since they come right from the Declaration of Independence and my ancestors both Native and Colonial served during the American Revolution under General Washington. These words alone say that our rights, freedoms and such are given to us by a higher power and not by a monarch, king, queen or dictator or anyone else and thus cannot be taken away from us. We could just remove the words "One Nation Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and forbid the singing of God Bless America and remove any and all mention of a supreme being from all documents but would we be a better country for doing this?
Would we be honoring the memory of those who served and died to fight for our freedom and all those who came to this country to escape tyrany and oppression and recited the pledge so proudly?

About a year before 9/11, two friends of mine, and members of a local rock group called Sister Sun, wrote a song called "How Does Freedom Ring?" a song that I'm listening to on my computer right now. It's actually an impressive song that was professionally recorded with a full local school choir and I'd like to share some of the words with you.

quote:

---

Now in school you can't hear a prayer. We long for the words of thee I sing. - Look for a sign searching everywhere - asking a question - how does freedom ring?

People say as the days go by. - too many lives live in fear. - Weaken the will and the spirit dies - leaving us just as though we were never here."

---

The song was originally written in response to all the violence seen in the public school system etc., but took on a greater significance following 9/11.

It would be one thing if was just removing the words "One Nation Under God" from the Pledge, but it's a lot more than that. With each passing day we lose more and more of our freedoms and pretty soon with the rate of decline, we wont be much better off than any other country.

Well anyway, I did find a short history of the Pledge.

The Pledge of Allegiance
A Short History
by Dr. John W. Baer
http://www.vineyard.net/vineyard/history/pledge.htm

posted 06-26-2002 09:42 PM               

quote:

---

"I, A__ B__, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." (5 U.S.C. 3331.) This is basically the same oath taken by every second lieutenant, every air force officer, and every U.S. Marshall in the land. These people must all reflect, when they take that oath, that one day someone may shoot at them because of it.

---

posted 06-26-2002 10:18 PM               

Posted on Tue, Jun. 18, 2002

West Nile virus appears early
KAREN GARLOCH
Staff Writer

A dead blue jay found in the SouthPark area last week is the first bird in the Carolinas to test positive for the West Nile virus this year.

"It's earlier by about three months than anything we saw last year," said Nolan Newton, chief of N.C. pest management.That's no surprise, because the virus has been slowly spreading across the East Coast since it arrived in New York City in 1999. But detection this early is cause for concern."If it's showing up earlier, we could potentially see much more activity than we saw last year," Newton said.

More birds -- and perhaps some humans -- could become infected.Newton's message: "Protect yourself against mosquito bites."West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes that feed on infected birds and then bite other animals or humans. Birds get it from mosquitoes or other birds.

Jim Griffith, who lives on Wickersham Road, called Mecklenburg County health officials June 10 about the dead blue jay his wife, Anne, found in their yard. He had stored the bird in a plastic bag in their garage refrigerator.

Officials sent the bird to a state health department lab in Raleigh, which confirmed Monday that it was infected with West Nile.

Because blue jays don't travel far, the dead bird was probably infected within a half mile of where it was found, Newton said."If I lived in that area, it would heighten my level of concern," he said. "I'd be particularly careful about being bitten by mosquitoes.

"Dry conditions should make this a lean year for mosquitoes, but "we're still getting a lot of complaints," said Dennis Salmen, program chief for Mecklenburg County environmental health.

Of 1,200 ditches, culverts and streams inspected for mosquitoes by the health department, 70 percent are dry. Mosquitoes are more likely growing in stagnant water left after people water lawns or wash cars, Salmen said.Finding the infected bird in the SouthPark area raised concern about people attending the outdoor symphony pops concerts, held near SouthPark mall around a recently built lake.

Container-bred mosquitoes are more aggressive and active for longer periods than other mosquitoes, Newton said."I would be more concerned about mosquitoes coming out of tires and jars and cans from people's back yards than I would of mosquitoes coming from a lake," he said.

Most people infected with the West Nile virus don't show any symptoms, health officials said. But people with weakened immune systems, those older than 55 or the very young are susceptible.

Usually the illness is mild, with symptoms including fever, headache, abdominal pain, vomiting and rash. The incubation period is five to 15 days.In a minority of cases, the infection can lead to encephalitis, a potentially deadly disease. About one in 150 human infections results in an illness severe enough to require hospitalization, health officials said.

"They told me it's a very rare event if someone dies from West Nile virus," Griffith said. "It wasn't as scary as some people have been led to believe."

West Nile was first diagnosed in the United States in 1999, when it infected 62 people and killed seven, all in the Northeast. It arrived in N.C. animals two years ago, but has not yet been detected in South Carolina.

Last year, 17 birds and horses tested positive for West Nile in North Carolina. One of the birds was found in the University area of Mecklenburg County in late September; two were found in Cabarrus County.

So far this year, 14 other states and the District of Columbia have reported West Nile virus in birds and horses. No human cases have been reported this year.The state's first infected bird was one of six dead birds sent from Mecklenburg County to Raleigh for testing so far this year.

"To have one come up positive in the first six is surprising," Salmen said. "My suspicion is it won't be the last."
http://rd.yahoo.com/Dailynews/knightridder/krcharlotte/inlinks/*http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/local/3491005.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chronic Wasting Disease Found in New Mexico Deer
Thu Jun 20,10:14 PM ET

SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Wildlife officials in New Mexico are puzzled by the state's first case of a deer diagnosed with chronic wasting disease, a specialist with the state's Department of Game and Fish said on Thursday.

The emaciated mule deer was identified and killed on March 28 near a residential area on the White Sands Missile Range, hundreds of miles south of the nearest known cases of the disease in Colorado, said Kerry Mower, a wildlife health specialist with the New Mexico department.

Test results were confirmed on June 17 and reported on Wednesday. "This particular occurrence is really unique because we do not have any game parks down there anywhere close. So when people wonder about how it got there, we absolutely don't know," Mower said in a telephone interview.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological condition affecting deer and elk. Like mad cow disease, CWD is in the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, which destroy the brain.

About 100 people in Europe have died from a related human illness linked to beef from infected cattle. However, CWD has never been shown to infect humans or cattle.

Researchers first identified CWD in North American deer and elk in the 1960s, but for decades, most of the cases were confined to an "endemic area" covering parts of Colorado, Wyoming and, later, Nebraska.

CWD APPEARS TO BE SPREADING

Since last fall, CWD appears to have been spreading, turning up in deer as far east as Wisconsin and in new areas of Canada as well. The New Mexico deer represents the southernmost known case of the disease. Researchers believe CWD may be transmitted via animal-to-animal contact. The disease has been more common on or near game farms where deer and elk are raised in captivity, and some have blamed its spread on interstate imports of the animals.

Such imports have been banned in several U.S. states, and New Mexico halted imports of live deer and elk this week. But Mower said game farms do not appear to have been a major factor in the New Mexico outbreak.

The state's captive deer and elk operations are located in northern areas, while the infected deer was found on military property in the south, near the U.S.-Mexico border. "It occurred on the arm of the U.S. Army boundaries, and that is extremely tightly controlled. It would be real hard for someone to sneak on there and turn a deer loose," Mower said.

New Mexico has been testing deer and elk for CWD for several years, but the state plans to increase its efforts as a result of the CWD diagnosis. The state has submitted brain tissue samples from 140 deer so far this year, and Mower said the Game and Fish Department will call on hunters to donate heads from their kill for testing during hunting season this fall.

The state is hoping hunters will turn in roughly 300 deer, Mower said. As an incentive, the department will hold a drawing to give away highly sought-after permits for two special hunts, he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020621/sc_nm/health_deer_dc_1

posted 06-27-2002 11:16 AM            

Subtitle: "My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water." [Jeremiah 2:13]
The New World Order is coming! Are you ready? Once you understand what this New World Order really is, and how it is being gradually implemented, you will be able to see it progressing in your daily news!!

Learn how to protect yourself, your loved ones!

Stand by for insights so startling you will never look at the news the same way again.

YOU ARE NOW ON

THE CUTTING EDGE

NEWS BRIEF: "Pledge Declared Unconstitutional", by David Kravits, Associated Press, June 26, 2002, Washington Post.com.

"SAN FRANCISCO –– A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Pledge of Allegiance is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion and cannot be recited in schools. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 1954 act of Congress inserting the phrase "under God" after the words "one nation" in the pledge. The court said the phrase violates the so-called Establishment Clause in the Constitution that requires a separation of church and state."

Before we contemplate the horror of this ruling, let us examine another article:

NEWS BRIEF: "Pledge of Allegiance Ruled Unconstitutional", http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,56310,00.html, June 26, 2002.

"SAN FRANCISCO — The Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional and should not be recited in public schools because it includes the words 'under God', a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. In its 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 1954 act of Congress that inserted the phrase "under God" after the phrase "one nation" in the pledge."

Doubtless you were just as shocked as I was when I read this headline! Even though Cutting Edge has been warning for years that America is systematically dismantling its National Christian Values Foundation, and replacing it with a Satanic Values Foundation [Seminar 1, "America's Leadership of the New World Order"], I was shocked when the final pillar of national commitment to God was laid low today.

One of the most Liberal District Courts in the nation was chosen to make this announcement today. Right now, the nine Western states covered by this court must order their schools to discontinue saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Now, other courts, both Federal and State, may use this ruling as a precedent to issue their own orders along the same lines. Yes, the U.S. Supreme Court may reverse this ruling, but the unthinkable blow against our National Sovereignty has been struck!

Public outcry was immediate.

" 'The president's reaction was that this ruling is ridiculous,' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said."

The 9th Circuit Appeals Court explained its decision.

"A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion," Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote for the three-judge panel."

From nearly the beginning of the 1954 insertion of this reference to "God", the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a child may elect not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance if they disagree with the reference to God; thus, an atheist, a Buddhist, or a Hindu may decide not to recite this pledge. You can forget the mantra that the judges created this decision today because they were trying to protect people who did not believe in God; these people have never been forced to state this Pledge.

What this insertion to God into the Pledge signified was that the United States of America was a nation that predominately worships God, or as President Esienhower stated, "The Almighty"; thus, just as this was a sign that America worshipped "God", this rejection today signifies exactly t the opposite: America the nation no longer worships "God", at least the God of the Holy Scriptures.

What this decision means in the life of this nation is that we have completed the process of throwing the God of our Forefathers out of our national life. To most Americans throughout our history, this God was the God of the Bible.

No nation who rejects the God of the Holy Bible lives long to tell about it. Listen to God's warning:

"But if any nation will not hear and obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, says the Lord." [Jeremiah 12:17]

God could not get more plain than this dire warning! America has been rejecting God in her national life at least since the 1963 Roe vs Wade abortion decision and the Public School Prayer ruling. Since then, Americans have become more and more pagan in her values, more and more hard hearted and callous in her dealings with others, and have allowed themselves to be led by the gods and goddesses of hedonism up the slaughter ramp leading to the New World Order, the Kingdom of Antichrist.

Therefore, America has committed both offenses God complained that Israel had committed -- and He destroyed her for it! This nation has rejected the one true God of the Holy Bible, and has dug religious cisterns that cannot hold water because they are cisterns of false gods and idols. Today, about one-third of all Americans practice New Age Religions to some degree and our sports heroes spout forth the wonders of these false gods. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and others practice Transcendental Meditation and are encouraging millions of adoring fans to do likewise.

Other Americans are worshipping at different false religions, of idols. One of the most important idol is economic: our finances, our retirement accounts, and our Materialistic way of life. Tens of millions today are so caught up with this type of false god that they are literally consumed with how their investments are doing, and how far up the corporate ladder they have climbed.

For others, sports is their idol. Something is really wrong when this nation's churches are mostly empty on Sunday mornings, but we weekly fill 70,000+ capacity sports stadiums. Christians are chastised if we follow our Bible closely, because no one wants a fanatic on their hands! Yet, we laugh and encourage sports "fans" -- word taken from "fanatic" -- when they pack in the stadiums, when they dress crazily and act like madmen.

EMBRACING SATANIC VALUES, ATTITUDES, AND GOALS

Americans have gone very far down this road of rejecting God and embracing Satanic values, so far that Americans probably could overwhelmingly accept Antichrist when he arises, especially if the nasty, narrow-minded Christians were taken in the Rapture at about the same time.

But, you protest, I do not worship Satan, and neither do any of my friends. Ah, yes, but Satan is clever and hides your worship of him, at least in the beginning. Let us examine The Satanic Bible to see what the values of Satanism are. Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan in 1966 and the author of this "Bible", says:

"The seven deadly sins of the Christian Church are: greed, pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth. Satanism advocates indulging in each of these 'sins' as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification." [Page 46]

When you carefully consider this list of Satanic values, do you not find they are the values by which Americans live their lives today? You see, a person can be a Satanist by just ordering their lives by these values, even if they never join a coven, sign their names in blood, or participate in a ritual by the light of the Full Moon!

America has gone long down this road to embracing the satanic values as espoused by The Satanic Bible. We are embracing these values at just exactly the same time in world history that prophetic signs by the bushel basket are being fulfilled together, at the same time, just as Jesus had foretold. Therefore, we can only conclude that this values-change is coming at just the right time for Americans to accept Antichrist when he arises.

THIS RULING JUST THE FIRST STEP

At this moment, many well-meaning people will protest that I am overreacting just a tad bit over this news. After all, this ruling did not come through the U.S. Supreme Court, and many notables are already speaking out against it. You would be right if you were thinking this. However, when you consider that this ruling is probably the first step in the Six Step Attitudinal Change Plan, you might find more reason to be concerned. I believe this ruling did kick off the Six Step Plan. Let us review it now:

SIX STEP ATTITUDINAL CHANGE PLAN

Step 1. Some practice so offensive that it can scarcely be discussed in public is advocated by a RESPECTED expert in a RESPECTED forum.

Step 2. At first, the public is shocked, then outraged.

Step 3. But, the VERY FACT that such a thing could be publicly debated becomes the SUBJECT

of the debate.

Step 4. In the process, sheer repetition of the shocking subject under discussion gradually dulling its effect.

Step 5. People then are no longer shocked by the subject.

Step 6. No longer outraged, people begin to argue for positions to moderate the extreme; or, they accept the premise, challenging, instead, the means to ACHIEVE it.

This insidious method of changing the deeply-held attitudes of people is being successfully directed toward the American population as a whole. Millions of people are experiencing attitudinal changes on a wide variety of subjects today. This attitudinal change is essential to achieving the New World Order. Remember, this plan is designed to subtly, almost invisibly, change people's attitudes and values, so that, once their attitude is changed, it will seem to the victim that they arrived at this new change completely on their own, with no outside influence! Such a person will get very angry if you suggest their new value was imposed upon them by outside forces.

With the way this Plan works in the hearts and minds of all citizens firmly entrenched in your minds, let us review some of the many ways in which it is being used today to move American Values from Christian to Pagan. {Taken from NEWS1055}

This ruling represents Step 1 and the beginning of Step 2. The "offensive subject" is the ruling itself, i.e., that the Pledge of Allegiance itself is unconstitutional! The Judges making this decision are the RESPECTED experts and the bench upon which they are sitting is the RESPECTED forum. These respected judges, speaking from their respected offices, ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional!!

And why? Because it contains a religious word, "God". Forget for a moment that believing in, or mentioning, "God" is not synonymous with Jesus Christ. We explain this Biblical fact in NEWS1071 and NEWS1072, entitled, "American TV Depicts The God of Freemasonry, Parts 1 and 2", respectively. If you are not familiar with this fact that the "God" referred to on our money and in our Pledge of Allegiance is not the God of the Bible, nor is he Jesus Christ, please stop reading right now to read these articles. Once you understand this concept, you will better understand this current event, and many others as well.

Nevertheless, these RESPECTED Judges speaking from their RESPECTED forums, have declared a very controversial concept, one they know will produce an immediate backlash! Immediately, Step 2 begins to kick in. People are outraged! What did our feature article from Fox News say?

" 'The president's reaction was that this ruling is ridiculous,' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said."

NEWS BRIEF: "Appeals Court Rules Pledge of Allegiance Is Unconstitutional", Star Tribune, June 27, 2002, http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/3018541.html

"Stunning politicians of both parties, a federal appeals court ruled for the first time Wednesday that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because of the words "under God," added by Congress in 1954 ... On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., called the decision "just nuts." House members gathered on the front steps of the Capitol to recite the pledge en masse, and senators angrily stopped debate on a defense bill to unanimously pass -- 99-0, with Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., absent -- a resolution denouncing the decision. In Minnesota, John Chronic, a special education teacher in St. Paul who is a Republican candidate for state representative, began circulating a petition to support the pledge. By evening, he had more than 200 signatures, he said.

" 'One hundred percent of the people I've talked to were against the court ruling that came down today,' he said."

People are outraged! And they begin to speak up and act out, just as this Six Step Plan wants them to do!

So, you can see that President Bush immediately called this ruling ridiculous, as have many other politicians and Talking Heads. But, many other politicians, and other Talking Heads, will find much in this ruling that pleases them. Step 2 is the immediate emergence of the two sides of debate -- 1) Defenders of the Status Quo, i.e., those who want to keep the Pledge of Allegiance as is; and 2) Advocates of Change.

In this Star Tribune article, we read the reaction from Bush and other politicians angrily attacking this ruling; however, this same article quotes a person in full support of the ruling. Listen:

"August Berkshire, president of Minnesota Atheists, which has 300 to 400 members, said the ruling is a victory for the First Amendment and for all Americans. 'We finally got a court to agree what every atheist has always known -- that God is a religious term'." [Ibid.]

Thus, we have the debate setting up nicely, just as the Six Step Plan envisions.

As the debate begins to rage, the focus of the debate will subtly begin to change. Gradually, the subject will shift from the merits of the subject itself, usually moving to a discussion as to how mature we all are that we can even discuss this subject. However, I have seen the debate shift to other side issues associated with the debate itself. This shift in focus of the debate constitutes Step 3.

Step 4 is the constant battling between the two opposing sides. This step is the really critical one, as it represents the heart and soul of the Hegelian Dialectic Process. This Hegelian Rule states that "Conflict Brings About Change", and that "Controlled Conflict Brings About Controlled Change". Step 4 is the "Controlled Conflict" stage that is depended upon to create the "Controlled Change" so desired. Now you can see the importance of subtly changing the focus, the frame, of the debate.

In Step 4, the Illuminati does not care if its proponents are outdebated by the opponents of the change, for they have discovered that, what is critically important is that the citizens hear the debate over and over again. Every time they hear the debate, some people will change their minds in favor of the radical change! The people whose attitudes could be changed to support the radical change, even if the opposition has badly outdebated the proponents, are those people whose values were never firmly based in the first place. Those citizens who just want to get along, or who support their government right or wrong, are the people whose attitudes will be changed to support the radical proposition, no matter how the debate goes.
Step 5 will soon follow the completion of Step 4. People will have heard the debate so many times, said in so many ways, they are no longer shocked by the subject. As soon as people's attitudes have been worn down, Step 6 will come in like a flood to knock down the opposition of most other American citizens.

Step 6 -- This step may be accomplished through a great crisis. We know that a great combination of multiple crises are planned to produce Antichrist [Read articles at http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/ww3.html for full details of this complex crisis plan]. The completion of Step 6 of this controversial issue may just wait until this combination crisis hits with full force.

PULLING YOUR CHILDREN OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily surprised me this morning with his reaction to this ruling. Farah says that this ruling demonstrates the overwhelming need to pull your children out of the morass that has become the Public School System. In making this point, Farah has some very interesting things to say. Listen:

NEWS BRIEF: "The pledge ruling", by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily, June 27, 2002.

"My reaction to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance is a little different than most of those you will read or hear elsewhere.

Is it a correct ruling? No.

Is it a ruling that has anything to do with the Constitution? No.

Is it unexpected? Not by me. To me, it was just a matter of time.

Let's remember that in 1962 and 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prayer in the schools was unconstitutional. The fact that it took nearly 40 years for the other shoe to drop is something of a surprise."

In this last remark, Farah is entirely correct; this ruling is simply the other shoe dropping from the 1962-63 Prayer rulings. The emphasis is on our belief in a monotheistic Supreme Being, a rather unfortunate belief when Antichrist is coming with his Polytheistic Religion.

Since Farah brought up this linkage to the Public School Prayer ban, I think we need to go full-circle on this thought. In the past few years, prayer has been allowed back in many Public Schools, but the type of prayers allowed are from pagan gods and goddess, not the Christian prayer kicked out in 1962. Might the same thing happen to this Pledge of Allegiance? We shall just have to wait to see.

Now, let us return to Farah:

"We can yell and scream about this all we want. But it won't change the direction of this country. I say it's time to call their bluff – and make their whole unconstitutional system fall of its own dead weight.

"What do I mean? Every American outraged by this ruling should not even raise a whimper of protest. They should not argue. They should not complain. Instead, they should remove their children from these ungodly, hostile government schools. They should do it now. They shouldn't wait until the situation gets any worse. Home school is the best option. For those who can't do that, choose a worthy private institution. It will be the best choice you ever made for your children. There are 10,000 reasons for making this choice."

We have been advocating since 1989 that caring parents need to remove their kids from Public Schools, and a great number of them have done just that. In fact, the numbers of parents educating their children at home is so huge it has spawned a very large and sophisticated Home Schooling industry. Only within this Home Schooling Industry -- plus private Christian Schools -- can one find textbooks that actually teach, using techniques proven to be effective.

Farah continues:

"I say let the atheists have the government schools. Let the homosexuals have them. Let the socialists have them. Let them fight out the curriculum issues with the Muslims. Jews and Christians should get out now.

"What will they have? Not much. Meanwhile, your children might actually get educated.

"If responsible Christian and Jewish parents did this all over America tomorrow, it would set off a revolution in this country. Gone would be the multi-billion-dollar Department of Education boondoggle. Gone would be the condom education. Gone would be the sexual propaganda and the moral relativism. No way tens of millions of parents are going to continue to be soaked in taxes for schools they don't use. Not only will your children be liberated, the whole country would be." [Ibid.]

During the time just before the East German Communists built the Berlin Wall, millions of East Germans were marching across the border into West Berlin, causing President Eisenhower to quip that the East German people were "voting for freedom with their feet". This type of protest is exactly what Farah is advocating, and it would be so effective that Bush and Congress would really get serious in legislating Home Schooling and Christian Private Schools out of existence. President Clinton attempted to do this on several occasions during his administration, so it is a likely scenario if Farah gets his way.

However, Farah has hit upon a very important issue: Public Schools have become the moral cesspool in which homosexuality is being taught, socialism is being advocated, sexual revolution is propagated, and the moral absolutes of the Bible are being thrown out with sophisticated arguments designed to convince many an immature mind. Oh, yes, and Public Schools are also teaching "Muslim sensitivity" training. Karl Marx -- the first public figure to advocate Public Schools -- would have been very proud of what his Public School System has become.

However, this ruling also strikes a very different blow.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE -- HEART AND SOUL OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

One of the major goals of the Illuminati is to remove a love of country from the hearts of Americans. As the United States gradually leads the world into the global government, economy, and religion of Antichrist and his False Prophet, nationalism stands mightily in the way. Time and time again, I have seen New World Order authors lament how formidable nationalism is proving to be. In fact, these authors boldly state that the progress to this new global system is being stopped dead in its tracks by a love of one's country.

Therefore, "end run attacks" have been mounted to slowly undermine sovereignty. When the 10 Super Nations were created [Read NEWS1002 for full details], the nations created were economic nations and their structure was built as a superstructure over the top of the existing political nations of the world. Thus, no one in any nation even noticed that Biblical prophecy was being fulfilled, nor did they complain too loudly because they detected no change in their immediate situation. However, the plan that would eventually replace national governments was set in place between 1992-1996. Illuminist leaders believe that, once a change in the economics of a nation are set into place, the corresponding parallel political change is inevitable.

When President Reagan refused to get us out of the United Nations as he advocated during the 1980 election, he set the stage for American presidents to begin to rehabilitate and build up the United Nations. Former President H.W. Bush began this process when he refused to go to war against Iraq until he received proper United Nations backing; when he initiated war, he did so according to United Nations resolutions. When he refused to allow our forces to topple Saddam Hussein, he cast his explanation in terms of United Nations resolutions, stating that these resolutions did not actually authorize the toppling of Hussein, but merely to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Finally, after the Iraqi War, Bush led a delegation of Heads of State to the United Nations Security Council, at which they voted to create a permanent military for the U.N.

On many occasions, President Clinton gave the standing and authority of his office to the United Nations. President Bush likewise trooped dutifully to the United Nations to explain his war on terror and ask for its support.

These are "end run attacks" on our sovereignty, and you could think of many more such instances whereby Clinton and Bush have used the power and authority of their office to strengthen the United Nations in the minds and hearts of American citizens. Their goal is to produce Global Citizens, not fervently patriotic American citizens. The Public School System shares this same goal.

The only exception to this sorry record is the patriotism deliberately encouraged after the 9/11 attacks. President Bush needed this outpouring of patriotism to swing Americans solidly behind his anti-terrorism agenda. History will record that this outpouring was an exception to the trend of the era.

This ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional strikes at the heart of this issue of national sovereignty, of love for one's country. Even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns this ruling, the blow has been struck that begins the Six Step Attitudinal Change Plan that will, over some years, produce the level of support for this issue so ardently desired by the Illuminati.

Thus, America has crossed a huge line with this ruling: They have further thrown God out of our national life and they have begun the process of gradually changing enough minds to finally produce a majority of citizens who are Global Citizens, not American patriots. And, the Public School System churns out millions of youngsters every year who have been educated in this global mindset.

The time of the destruction of the United States of America just took a large step forward with this ruling. The time of the End of the Age continues to march inexorably to its planned conclusion.

posted 06-27-2002 01:31 PM            

A while back, when doing some research on MKULTRA (CIA's original mind control project), I found that our shadow government embraced satanism long ago. MKULTRA was in the '50s, and one of the main advisors affiliated with the projects was a well known and self proclaimed satanist.

I believe our 'shadow' government is satanist, and has been for a very long time. This is the same reason I believe Christianity has been manipulated. Please understand I am not trying to offend anyone, but look at the typical American christian. How many of these american christians truly make a sincere effort?? It seems that they are predominately the ones who ARE consumed by greed and material things. It seems to me that a lot of people have embraced Christianity, simply as means of condoning or supporting their sins. Do they make any attempt to not sin and be consumed by negativity? I don't think so. I think many American christians indulge because they believe that if they go to church once a week, their sins are justified.

Also, about the pledge of allegiance not being allowed;

My personal viewpoint on this is that it is good news. Why should all citizens of a country that claims 'freedom of religion' be forced to recite a pledge that refers to a god in which whom they may not even believe.

I have always been annoyed by the word 'god' being used by our government. It's even on the currency for crying out loud. Freedom of religion also includes the freedom to have NO religion. At one point they were trying to force chrstian prayer on schools. What about the kids who may be from buhhdist families? Should every school have to recite a pledge that refers to Buhddism? Should there be a buhhdist reference in the pledge of allegiance???????????????

posted 06-27-2002 01:56 PM            

I simply cannot believe how this country is allowing all we believe in to be destroyed or taken away by some asshole judge or judges who happen to have a different view than mine or yours. Remove them from office and submit them to a public whipping, they are a disgrace to the robes!!

posted 06-27-2002 01:59 PM            

Also, allow me to point out just how inignificant and TRIVIAL such issues are, especially considering the state or our union, the state of our planet, on the state of our being.

posted 06-27-2002 07:41 PM            

AT...no offense taken. I do not wish my religion forced on anyone nor do I want the abscence of religion forced either. God is a generic term. Not specific.

If you throw out the creator you are also throwing out the declaration of independence. For an interesting warning of this read George Washington's farewell address. Sorry, don't have a link handy.

posted 06-27-2002 09:18 PM            

What other religions use the term 'GOD'?

posted 06-27-2002 10:54 PM            

quote:

---

Washington's Farewell Address 1796

1796
Friends and Citizens:

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea.

I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety, and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that, in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire.

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.

But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole.

The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; and, while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications by land and water, will more and more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and, what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.

While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rival ships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the whole with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands.

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our Western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head; they have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi; they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them everything they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Union by which they were procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren and connect them with aliens?

To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliance, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than your former for an intimate union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?

Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it 7 It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?

In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence, frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations, has been the victim.

So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils 7 Such an attachment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government. the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing (with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them) conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that, by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.

How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them.

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the twenty-second of April, I793, is the index of my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness.

The considerations which respect the right to hold this con duct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe that, according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all.

The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without anything more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations.

The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me a predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.

Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.

Geo. Washington.

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