Reviewing the latest news

This is a load of bullcrap. I don't say that as a religious Jew but as an American citizen who believes in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence along with other major legal documents. It's a load of bull just like the Michael Newdow case in 2002.

The Becket Fund, a religious rights group that is a party to the case, said it would immediately appeal the case to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If the court does not change its precedent, the group would go to the Supreme Court.

"It's a way to get this issue to the Supreme Court for a final decision to be made," said fund attorney Jared Leland.

The decisions by Karlton and the 9th Circuit conflict with an August opinion by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. That court upheld a Virginia law requiring public schools lead daily Pledge of Allegiance recitation, which is similar to the requirement in California.

A three-judge panel of that circuit ruled that the pledge is a patriotic exercise, not a religious affirmation similar to a prayer.

"Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under G-d' contain no religious significance," Judge Karen Williams wrote for the 4th Circuit. "The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity."

Karlton, appointed to the Sacramento bench in 1979 by President Carter, wrote that the case concerned "the ongoing struggle as to the role of religion in the civil life of this nation" and added that his opinion "will satisfy no one involved in that debate."

Karlton dismissed claims that the 1954 Congressional legislation inserting the words "under G-d" was unconstitutional. If his ruling stands, he reasoned that the school children and their parents in the case would not be harmed by the phrase because they would no longer have to recite it at school.

Terence Cassidy, a lawyer representing the school districts, said he was reviewing the opinion and was not immediately prepared to comment.

I side with the school district. I believe that Judge Lawrence Karlton has made the wrong decision. If the Supreme Court rules on this, they will say that it's a patriotic exercise and not an affirmation of prayer. However, as Paul Begala once said, "as long as there are math tests, there will always be prayer in school."
John Roberts will most likely be the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

He refused to be drawn into a discussion with Biden or Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California when they asked about a "right to die."

And he said he wouldn't discuss the particulars of a case that Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee chairman, asked about in which the Supreme Court overturned a law Congress had passed.

Later, Specter told reporters Roberts had "answered more questions than most."

"Nominees answer about as many questions as they think they have to to be confirmed," added the Pennsylvania Republican. "I think it may well be, and it's too soon to say with certainty, that Judge Roberts has gone beyond."

Schumer disagreed. He told Roberts he had turned the hearing room into a "cone of silence."

Feinstein voiced a different concern.

"I guess what has begun to concern me a little bit is Judge Roberts, the legal automaton, as opposed to Judge Roberts, the man," she said as she tried without success to elicit his views on end-of-life issues.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Roberts, a steel executive's son who attended a private boarding school in Indiana and later graduated from Harvard, lived a comfortable life, and he questioned whether he could deal with cases involving society's less fortunate.

"I had a middle-class upbringing in Indiana," Roberts said. "I worked in the steel mills outside of Gary" during the summers. "Comfortable, yes, but isolated in no sense."

I'd prefer someone who answers all the questions with more than a yes, no, or I don't know answer.

The Louisiana Attorney General is drawing up charges against owners of nursing homes in New Orleans.

The arrest of two nursing-home owners in the deaths of 34 people marked the beginning of what prosecutors said Wednesday is a large-scale investigation into whether New Orleans-area hospitals and other institutions neglected their patients during Hurricane Katrina's onslaught.

The Louisiana attorney general's office said all of its investigators have been pulled from other tasks to work on the Medicaid Fraud Unit, the team whose work led to homicide charges Tuesday against the husband-and-wife owners of the flooded-out St. Rita's nursing home in Chalmette.

Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Charles Foti, said the office is looking into other allegations of neglect that may have led to injuries or deaths at nursing homes and hospitals.

Hurricane Ophelia has struck the coast of North Carolina. I hope there was not as much damage or deaths like there was in New Orleans and all along the gulf coast.

Just like The Moderate Voice, I won't be paying for the services at the NY Times. I'm a poor college student (See amazon and paypal links on sidebar) with hardly enough income to rack out that much finances to subscribe.

Life can go on without some of your fine columnists, and we suspect this move means you're shooting yourselves in the foot (or a bit lower, to the back, but just turn the other cheek when the pain hits). This just means fewer quotes, fewer links — fewer people who don't live in New York reading your newspaper.

Does Paul McCartney have a dark side? I didn't think he did. This album is great! I just listened to it in full this afternoon, and it will be a top ten album.

St. Louis has played the Pittsburgh Pirates for the last time at Busch Stadium today. The Cardinals lost 5-3 with Jason Marquis getting his 14th loss. Chris Carpenter went undefeated in 16 starts from June 16th to last night. Albert Pujols has yet to hit his 200th home run. In the Florida State League, the Palm Beach Cardinals have won the league title. This weekend sees a matchup with Chicago at Wrigley Field.

My condolences go out to the family of former Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens as his mother, Bess Clemens, has passed away. The Clemens family is in my hearts and prayers. David Wells starts tonight against Josh Towers.

Could this pass as the quote of the day?

With the possible exception of Bob Dylan or Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney remains the ultimate rock idol and the world's most influential living singer/songwriter/musician. Even so, McCartney's relevance since the demise of the Beatles has been fiercely debated. From his self-titled solo debut to his work throughout the Eighties, Nineties, and today, McCartney's output has been derided as "silly love songs" (to borrow the title of one of his many Seventies hits). Paul apologists continue to battle that assertion, citing albums like Band on the Run, Flowers in the Dirt, and Tug of War as proof of his importance. But really, when you've been a guiding force behind the greatest rock band of all time, the only standard you need to meet is your own. And this Friday, when Paul and company launch into any of the dozens of Beatles and solo classics, even the most cynical observer will be silenced.

For some more McCartney news, click here. It appears that he is being cautious after what has happened to his former bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison.

And Mills McCartney warns those hoping to secure a chat with their idol should avoid referring to themselves as fans.

She says, "The word fan means fanatical. So when you go up to Paul, don't say you're a fan, say, 'I'm a great admirer.' Because a fanatical person is someone that shot John Lennon and stabbed George Harrison."

I'm a great admirer of Paul and the Beatles.

Tonight marks the 100th appearance of Chuck Berry at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis, Missouri. Tickets are $25 and you must be 21 or over.