Oh, THIS is reassuring...

By a margin of 247 to 173, the House of Representatives voted today to demonstrate their utter lack of respect for our system of government. This ridiculous bill will most likely not pass the senate, and will therefore die, but it's mighty alarming nonetheless.
The bill is to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over any case involving the inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the pledge of allegiance. It's author, Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO)said that to allow courts to rule "under God" unconstitutional would be to "have emasculated the very heart of what America has always been about." Hmmmmm. You mean like checks, balances, separation of powers, that kind of thing that America's always been about? I guess not.
Mr. Akin, and his cohorts Tom Delay, Pat Robertson, et al, don't seem to remember that we are a nation founded on the principle that our rights are only to be infringed when absolutely necessary for the peaceful functioning of the republic. As such, we've eschewed the idea of a state religion, not to hamper their right to worship as they see fit, but to ensure that right. Unfortunately for them, that means we have to protect others' rights to worship, or not worship as they see fit. Sometimes that means that others will not worship the same god as them or *gasp* any god at all. To prevent any one group from siezing the reins of goverment and forcing Mr. Akin's children to worship Baal, or Vishnu, or a golden calf against their will, we've diluted power through the three branches of government. This means that even if, hypothetically (ahem), fanatics are ascendant in Congress or the White House, there is another bulwark in the courts to prevent the hasty stripping of constitutional protections. And if Mr. Akin doesn't like the types of decisions coming out of the courts their makeups can be changed by the voters electing presidents and members of Congress who will appoint and confirm justices who see things their way.
But that's just not quick enough for these poor dears. It's not a sensational or dramatic enough way for them to have their way. So they want to kick the courts out of the process altogether. If it wasn't so disgraceful, it'd be silly.
They say the republic of the United States of America was created by geniuses so it could be run by imbeciles. We're certainly putting that maxim to the test, aren't we?