Francis Beckwith’s emailed his latest Southern Appeal post to me. It’s worth reproducing in full here:
Andrew Sullivan does it again: he tries to demean Gov. Palin and fails, again
by Francis Beckwith
Andrew Sullivan writes:
From an Eagle Forum Candidate Questionnaire:
Q: Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
PALIN: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
The phrase was added in 1954.
Andrew, again, has not done his homework. The question was about the “under God” phrase, which, as historians of the American founding note, was added to the Pledge by Congress in 1954 precisely because it was uttered on several occasions by none other than George Washington, including this historically important moment:
The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.
– Address to the Continental Army before the Battle of Long Island (27 August 1776)
So, the journalism B.A. from the University of Idaho beats the Harvard Ph.D. (in political philosophy) yet again.
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Daniel Horowitz
Ummm...
Molten Monday, September 1st at 11:34PM EST (link)I’m more than sure that the “under God” phrase had nothing to do with George Washington..
If anyone it was Abe Lincoln…and he’s certainly not considered a “founding Father” by historians..
You may want to check with the Knights of Columbus on this one…or a history book…or Google..
Please post a link if you think you can prove your theory..
Thanks..
Nice try.
shooflyguy68 Monday, September 1st at 11:37PM EST (link)She goofed. She made a mistake. Big deal. If this is the biggest mistake she makes all campaign, we’ll all be happy.
And you would be wrong
Bill S (Diary) Monday, September 1st at 11:47PM EST (link)http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2004/jun3.html
“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.” – David St. Hubbins
How certain are you that she was speaking specifically to the flag as opposed to the mention of God in general?
Martin Knight (Diary) Monday, September 1st at 11:57PM EST (link)I mean, doesn’t it get tired being so worldly-wise cynical all the time?
Correction Kowalski: "flag" = "pledge" above ...
Martin Knight (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:00AM EST (link).
I just reread it and it's not
shooflyguy68 Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:01AM EST (link)out of the realm of possibility that she was referring to to the phrase “under God” and didn’t goof on assuming the Pledge has been around since our founding. Either way, it’s not a big deal for me. I hope we cut Sen Obama some slack next time he mentions he’s visited 57 states.
This made it to Kos last nite.
phxg (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:05AM EST (link)http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/31/174153/834
800 comments of pure stupidity. But I think I have found that this may be (if I put on the tin foil hat) planted by the Obama Campaign by way of poster JLFinch.
JLFinch is a regular poster on Kos and holds the pro-Obama position as many do there.
She has a my.barackobama.com page with only 1 “friend”. Paul Delehanty.
Paul Delehanty is a regular Kos poster, and has substantial online presence.
Democrats.org
One of Paul Delehanty’s friends is TJ Thomson. Turns out, Thomson leader of the Barack Obama campaign in Idaho, he is the vice chair of Idaho’s Delegation to the Democratic National Convention. Idado Democrats.org.
Now, the Obama campaign can produce information to a field operative TJ Thompson who can then forward that to Paul Delehanty who can contact a friend who is a regular poster on Kos (JLFinch) to post a story that makes Gov. Palin appear ignorant.
Oddly enough, the JLFinch post was up at Sun Aug 31, 2008 at 02:56:04 PM PDT
where the Andrew Sullivan post wasn’t up until 01 Sep 2008 06:16 pm. So either Sullivan was just filling blog space with something he picked up at his favorite info source (Kos) or JLFinch produced this story BEFORE every other blogger and news outlets across the nation as I can not find a story older then hers.
Just a theory, but what Erick has found out, I am less inclined to believe it is just coincidence.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. –Aristotle
Who cares...
liberalrepublican (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:07AM EST (link)This is such a stupid issue.
Does anyone doubt the founding fathers spoke of God frequently?
The bigger issue is the trooper firing – that has the potential of being very distracting until Nov 4th as information (and innuendo) comes out in a drip.
“Broadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. … including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy”
Read the original post, with the links
Francis_BEckwith Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:14AM EST (link)In my original post I cite the article by political scientist James Piereson. He briefly recounts what is widely well-known in the world of church-state studies, in an area in which I teach at Baylor University.
The “under God” portion of the Pledge came to us from Washington through Lincoln and finally added to the 1892 Pledge of Allegiance in order to distinguish our form of church-state separation from the Soviet’s atheocracy.
You can find my original post at What’s Wrong with the World–here: http://www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net/2008/09/andrewsullivandoesitagain.html–or at Southern Appeal–here: http://www.southernappeal.org/index.php/archives/3748
This one is asking some slack time for BO.
Rod_Patrick (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:18AM EST (link)I suggest you stop re-reading. It’s no use to you. You have already memorized what BO Camp has programmed you think, anyway.
Check out if you’re still under the hypnosis of HOpe and Change.
How about another?
Molten Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:30AM EST (link)Because that Christian “article” you tossed out flies in the face of every reputable historical article on the subject that I’ve read..
It doesn’t even mention the Knights of Columbus, who are commonly known to have been responsible for co-opting the phrase, and pushing the phrase on Eisenhower..
Try these..
http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_pled1.htm
http://undergod.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=67
(check Feb. 12 1948 on this page)
http://www.slate.com/?id=2067499
http://www.kofc.org/rc/en/about/activities/community/pledgeAllegiance.pdf
http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/1999/May99/lynn.html
I think the original interpretation is correct
misterd Tuesday, September 2nd at 12:44AM EST (link)She wasn’t being asked about “under God”, but “under God in the pledge of allegiance.” So either she misunderstood the question, or answered incorrectly.
To which I say, so what? This isn’t exactly an important point of history. She certainly wasn’t old enough (ala McCain and Biden) to have said the Pledge pre-God, and the question of when and how it got in the Pledge is secondary to whether it should be there at all.
If this were some well know bit of American trivia (like how many state there are, or in what state Mt. Rushmore is in), I might find it a small gaffe. But this is pure minutiae that 99% of the American public neither knows nor cares about.
So, congratulations. They won one. A few dozen more like this and maybe it’ll balance out Biden’s plagarism.
sounds like an old joke to me.
itrytobenice (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 1:09AM EST (link)I’ve heard many, many times regarding the King James version of the Bible:
It was good enough for Paul and Silas and it’s good enough for me.
Proper grammar saves lives.
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.
You're still here?
NightTwister (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 4:25AM EST (link)religiousintolerance.org?
slate.com?
I’m sure glad you didn’t choose a biased source like christianitytoday.com.
Isn’t there an Obama worship service somewhere you should be attending?
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. – Winston Churchill
Still here...
Molten Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:15AM EST (link)And at least I have multiple sources which state the same historical facts…
You guys have one…
Actually, I don't have any sources.
NightTwister (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:21AM EST (link)And I’m not really interested in looking them up. If you don’t realize that the Founding Fathers believed that God’s Providence was behind the creation of this nation, and that we were founded as One Nation Under God, there’s really no hope for you.
And personally, I don’t know why you’d want to hang around here. I’m actually quite impressed that you’ve made it a month, but I’m sure that mask will fall off sooner or later.
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. – Winston Churchill
Actually, I don't have any sources.
Molten Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:29AM EST (link)Nuff said..
Oh please, let me rephrase.
NightTwister (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:33AM EST (link)I’m not going to waste any time digging out the thousands of quotes available to try to explain this to you.
Here’s my suggestion. Go walk around Washington D.C. and read the inscriptions on the buildings that look really old.
Maybe then you’ll get a clue (but I doubt it).
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. – Winston Churchill
It's mask has already fallen why do the directors let it continue to troll here...I don't know!
JadedByPolitics (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:44AM EST (link)nt
Unified Patriots – How-To:
Activists Taking Action
Jaded, I guess I should follow my own advice, huh?
NightTwister (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:50AM EST (link)The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. – Winston Churchill
Exactly!
JadedByPolitics (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 5:50AM EST (link)nt
Unified Patriots – How-To:
Activists Taking Action
She goofed in history but nailed the sentiment
tankertodd (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 8:37AM EST (link)Leave it to Kossites to rearrange the chairs on their private little Titanic. This is truly a nitpick. If they want to cite honesty in candidate answers perhaps they should ask Joe Biden about his blatant, unforced lies about his background during his run for the White House. He was a dismal failure during his run then but suddenly he’s capable of being a vice president now?
We all understand the gist of what Sarah Palin was saying. There’s no need to defend it. The idea that our nation is Under God is one of the very underpinnings of why our nation is the greatest in the world, and is also one of the things liberals want to destroy. Nuff said.
———————————
The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race – Chief Justice Roberts
And this makes her worse than Obama how?
tankertodd (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 8:48AM EST (link)Earmarks are one thing. Taking money from a convicted felon is something else. An earmark quid pro quo in return for jacking up Michelle Obama’s salary into the stratosphere is something else.
You sure you want to play the Ethics game? Obama/Biden will lose every time, which is amazing given that both are do-nothing Senators, whereas Palin has a massive responsibility and both have made a career of making enemies for the public good – no shortage of dirt there. So keep digging, and so will we.
———————————
The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race – Chief Justice Roberts
Robertson, Monegal is a Juneau
Achance (Diary) Tuesday, September 2nd at 8:57AM EST (link)based law firm that was among Alaska’s oldest. So the WaPo gets one fact wrong from the start. Robertson was a staunch Republican back when there were three or four of those in VERY Democrat Alaska, a delegate to Alaska’s Constitutional Convention, and one of the few votes against the Constitution.
It had close ties to the old powerhouse gold mining and fishing industries but became less prominent as those industries receded in importance after oil. They remained closely tied to mining and timber in Southeast Alaska and former partner Jim Clark carried out a quixiotic battle against Greenies and the federal government on behalf of the timber industry. Clark went on to become Gov. Murkowski’s COS and pled guilty to corruption for arranging to have Veco pay for a poll for Murkowski in the ’06 primary.
The firm has since become controlled by younger partners and changed its name.
In Vino Veritas
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