Welcome to The Sunday Chronicle. Our goal here is to bring to light the First Amendment violations being perpetrated against the people by a growing number of government agencies. Our first series 'Holy Rollers' will begin next week, but we wanted to give you a little background before getting started. So here it is. I hope you enjoy this and join us next week for our first official episode.

Holy Rollers -or- The Long Arm Of The (Biblical) Law

Introduction

In this series we will be introducing you to the Law Enforcement Agencies across this nation that have violated the Constitution of the United States by placing the highly controversial, and illegal, slogan 'In God We Trust' on the vehicles and property that we, the people, pay for.

Some of you will have read that last sentence and thought to yourselves, but 'In God We Trust' is our National Motto, and it's on all our money, so how could it possibly be illegal? Allow me to explain.

The slogan 'In God We Trust' (hereafter referred to as IGWT) has only been the 'official' motto for 60 years. On July 30th, 1956 President Dwight Eisenhower and the 84th Congress of the United States committed a crime against the people of this nation by declaring this undeniably religious slogan to be our 'official' National Motto. There is no denying that the phrase is religious, it has the word 'god' in it, so even if you ascribe to the vague 'all gods are one god' perspective, there is no denying that 'some' god is being intimated. The fact that a president would promote this slogan to the status of 'official motto' is upsetting, since our Founders purposely rejected several religiously themed phrases before they chose the our True National Motto, E Pluribus Unum', and had it placed upon the Great Seal of the United States. More upsetting, however, is that the 84th Congress of the United States approved the use of IGWT in a direct violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Most upsetting of all is the fact that, due to the passage of time, and gaps in the eduction of our citizens, many have come to believe that IGWT truly is the motto our Founders chose for this nation. However, a long history of thinking a thing to be true does not make it so. Nor does it make it legal, and 'we the people' have the right to stand up and tell our government that we disapprove of its actions.

'But why?', you may be wondering. 'Does it really hurt anyone when a sheriff puts an IGWT decal on the county’s cruisers?' Physically? Of course not, but legally it is a violation of the Constitution and if this violation is allowed, which violation will we allow next. Shall we allow them to suppress right to free speech? Free assembly? How about the Right to Bear Arms? Did that one get your attention? Because, if we allow our government to start taking our rights away, they won't stop until all of our freedoms are gone. So what does all of this have to do with Law Enforcement? And who are the 'Holy Rollers'? Let me tell you. Across this nation religious organizations have been contacting county and law enforcement leaders, promoting the use of IGWT. Some organizations are blatant about the religious connotations of the slogan and encourage these local leaders to 'seek the protection and blessings of God'. Others are more subtle and encourage these leaders to display their patriotism and national pride. Of course, these organizations fail to mention that few things could be less patriotic than a promotion of religion by a government agency.

And that is why I am here. During this series I will be introducing you to the various law enforcement agencies which have violated the Constitution by placing this religious slogan on the vehicles which we, the tax-payers, fund and I encourage you to join me in voicing your dissent to their actions.

Before we get started, however, I would like to introduce you to those organizations which are promoting IGWT, and to some allies in dissent.

First up, promoters of IGWT:

By far the biggest offender is In God We Trust ~ America, Inc. This organization was founded by Jacquie Sullivan, a city council member from Bakersfield, California and has declared their mission to be, 'to promote patriotism by encouraging elected officials to “vote yes” to legally display our Congressionally approved national motto “In God We Trust” in every city, county chamber, and state capital in America'. You can learn more about them here: http://www.ingodwetrust-america.org/

Running a close second to, or possibly tied with, the above group is an organization simply named In God We Trust (guess they beat the other guys to the punch when it came to name choices). Here is what they have to say on the matter: 'The “In God We Trust. Put It Up!” Initiative is an effective strategy to protect and preserve our First Amendment right to religious liberty, a freedom that is being threatened through a well-organized and well-funded effort to remove all vestige of God from the public domain in America.' To hear more on their point of view, check them out here: http://ingodwetrust.com/about/

Finally, we have a group called Operation Safety 91. Now, were you to only read the first half of their mission statement you might think, 'Good job, guys', unfortunately there IS a second part to their mission statement. Here it is: 'Our mission is twofold. First, to instill across America an appreciation and commitment to honor our current and retired 1st Responders: Firefighters & EMS Personnel, Police & Law Enforcement, and Military. Secondly, our mission is to provide free-of-charge, a pocket-size Psalm 91 Card - which has countless proven testimonies - to 1st Responders and their Chaplains who request them.' While this organization is not directly promoting the use of IGWT decals, they are certainly contributing to the promotion of theocracy withing law enforcement, and I felt that warranted a mention. You can find them here: http://www.os91.com/home.php

Across the ring from these theocratic organizations are our allies in the fight against IGWT.

First up, my good friends at E Pluribus Unum – The Original Motto Project. Their mission is: 'to have the words E Pluribus Unum in every municipal building across the country. We believe that the phrase E Pluribus Unum promotes the truly inclusive nature of American society. It is our goal to have the national motto changed to “E Pluribus Unum”. This is the motto our founders intended us to have. It is enshrined in some our earliest documents. It in on our coins and had been the de-facto motto until being replaced in 1956 out of fear of communism.' You can learn more about this organization here: http://originalmotto.us/

Another excellent ally in the defense of our freedoms is Americans United For Separation of Church And State. This organization is, 'dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all.' You can find them here: http://www.au.org/ if you would like to learn more.

Next up we have Secular Coalition For America, who's mission is: 'to increase the visibility of and respect for nontheistic viewpoints in the United States, and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all.' You can learn more about them here: www.secular.org and join your state group while you're there.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Freedom From Religion Foundation. Their purpose is: 'to promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.' and you can get to know them here: https://ffrf.org/

So, those are the main players. I hope you will join me next time when we turn our attention to the Law Enforcement Agencies that have made the decision to violate the Constitutional freedoms of American citizens.
Oh, and one final note, for those of you who are still hung up on the fact that IGWT is on our currency...Please take a moment and visit this link to the Treasury Department and take a moment to read about the religious propaganda that gave us the slogan in the first place.
www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx

Have a nice day.