To the Editor:
Regarding Michael Newdow’s renewed legal challenge to the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance (“Pledge of Allegiance Debate Heard in Federal Court,” News in Brief, Sept. 22, 2010):
Dr. Newdow and I were on a panel to discuss the issue at an American Civil Liberties Union-sponsored meeting at the University of Maryland shortly before he argued his case before the U.S. Supreme Court several years ago. I made the point that, while the motto might be of questionable constitutionality, a Supreme Court ruling to that effect would surely result in an unstoppable amending of the Constitution to restore it—an amendment process that could well go beyond that issue to authorize school-sponsored devotions, school vouchers, and restrictions on reproductive choice.
I am of that opinion still. Dr. Newdow is on a kamikaze mission.
Edd Doerr
President
Americans for Religious Liberty
Silver Spring, Md.