Steve Bellovin
My reaction to https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/116105214098438914 is to quote West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (319 U.S. 624): "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." And that was a *wartime* ruling.
Feb 21 at 1:00amWeb
Show threadWolf_BaginskiFeb 21

@SteveBellovin

Just to make it certain, this case was in 1943. Yes, I know what was being done to Japanese-Americans at the same time.

Show threadJames HubbardFeb 21

@SteveBellovin New slogan for a radio station that decides to comply....

"K93... We Bend the Knee"

Show threadJoborgFeb 21
@SteveBellovin Coulda fooled me.
https://thehill.com/news/3256719-47-states-require-the-pledge-of-allegiance-be-recited-in-schools-here-is-a-breakdown-of-each-states-laws/
Show threadSteve BellovinFeb 21
@joborg But are those laws actually enforceable if the kids' parents decide to fight? (The parental consent provision in some laws is, at least to me, a murkier area.) Note that the article started by talking about a $90,000 settlement paid by a teacher. I suspect that almost every Federal district court judge and most appellate courts, with the exception of the Fifth Circuit, would bar enforcement. (The Fifth Circuit just upheld another law that they shouldn't have, given binding Supreme Court precedent.) In theory, only the Supreme Court (or a constitutional amendment) can change that 1943 holding.
(Aside: I'm old enough that when I was in grade school, we still had Bible readings, including from the New Testament in a school where most of the students and an overwhelming majority of the teachers were Jewish. And when the Supreme Court (rightly) declared that unconstitutional, there were moves to amend the constitution to permit it. Those went nowhere.)
Show threadQ.H. StoneFeb 22
@SteveBellovin Unfortunately corporate media is focused on the bottom line. They would win in court but it’s cheaper to collaborate so that’s what they keep doing.