One nation, under Zeus

Editorial from The Wall Street Journal

God -- or the Supreme Court -- should save the honorable 9th Circuit Court of Appeals from itself.

Last month that court ruled that Rastafarians could smoke marijuana on federal lands because pot is sacred to their religion.

Now it's gone one better, declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of the words "under God."

In its wisdom, the 9th Circuit deemed that the offending phrase constitutes a government establishment of religion. ...

Nixon appointee Alfred Goodwin was joined in his addled opinion by Carter appointee Stephen Reinhardt, an ultra-liberal best known as one of the most overturned judges on the federal bench.

Dissenting was Reagan appointee Ferdinand Fernandez, who pointed out that under his colleagues' reading of the Constitution, "God Bless America" would soon be banned from public settings. ...

The suit was brought by a Sacramento crank, who ... had objected that his daughter's second-grade class was reciting the pledge every morning. The court bought his argument that peer pressure makes it hard for a kid not to utter the two dangerous words. ...

The Supreme Court goes on vacation in a few days. We hope the justices enjoy their summer break and return to the bench ready to deal with this silliness.