See new label titled American Remembrance

Capitol Visitor Center Opens With Objection To Lack of Religious References-"Yesterday, the $621 million U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, over-budget and behind schedule, opened to the public. (Washington Post.) South Carolina Republican Senator Jame DeMint almost delayed the opening further, according to the McClatchy Newspapers yesterday. DeMint complains that the Center "fails to appropriately honor our religious heritage that has been critical to America’s success." (DeMint Press Release.) Problems began when, on a preview tour, DeMint discovered that a panel on a wall incorrectly identified "E Pluribus Unum", rather than "In God We Trust" as the national motto. The chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee have agreed to support removal of the erroneous reference to "Our Nation's Motto" (which has been temporarily plastered over), and to adding engravings of "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance in prominent locations in the Visitor Center. DeMint says:
While the Architect of the Capitol has pledged to include some references to faith, more needs to be done.... The current ... displays are left-leaning and in some cases distort our true history. Exhibits portray the federal government as the fulfillment of human ambition and the answer to all of society’s problems. This is a clear departure from acknowledging that Americans' rights 'are endowed by their Creator' and stem from 'a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.'DeMint particularly objects to the engraving near the entrance reading: "We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution."



'God' Hard to Find in New Capitol Center-"The main problems as far as the prayer caucus members were concerned:
- "E Pluribus Unum" was represented as our nation's motto, though the motto is actually "In God We Trust."
"In 1956 under the Eisenhower administration they passed 'In God We Trust' as the national motto," Tyler pointed out. "That IS our national motto and it's not up to the architect and their committee to change it."
- the phrase "In God We Trust" wasn't displayed prominently.
- the table President Lincoln used to hold his Bible during his second inauguration is displayed, but without the Bible.
- the Pledge of Allegiance isn't displayed prominently."

Update: 01:31 PM One Year Later, Still No Word from Ninth Circuit on Legality of National Motto, Pledge of Allegiance-"A year after lawsuits against the Pledge of Allegiance and national motto were argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the fate of both cases still hangs in the balance."

School board rejects line from Pledge of Allegiance for boardroom wall-"Antelope Valley Union High School District trustees have voted narrowly to defeat a plan to place the words “one nation under God” on a boardroom wall.
The phrase, contained in the Pledge of Allegiance, was at the center of a court battle waged several years ago by a Sacramento parent who challenged the pledge recited in public schools as unconstitutional.
“I grew up as a kid from a religious background. I do have faith, but I do not believe we should mix church and state,” Board President Jim Lott said Friday. “Our job is to educate students without any kind of indication of religion.” (emphasis added)"