SAN FRANCISCO – A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments on Thursday that the phrases violate the separation of church and state. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected two legal challenges by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow, who claimed the references to God disrespect his religious beliefs. "The Pledge is constitutional," Judge Carlos Bea wrote for the majority in the 2-1 ruling. "The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded." The same court ruled in Newdow's favor in 2002 after he sued his daughter's school district for having students recite the pledge at school.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her members Friday to brace themselves for a climatic health care vote as early as next week, warning them to clear their schedules for next weekend and promising to stay in session until the landmark vote, people present said afterwards. President Barack Obama has postponed an overseas trip until March 21 presumably so he can be in Washington for the climactic vote. Asked about the scheduling change, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "I am delighted the president will be here for the passage of the bill. It is going to be historic."

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- One of the top Democrats in the House confirmed today that congressional leaders have no plans to pursue any changes to the abortion funding found in the Senate health care bill the House will attempt to pass. Meanwhile, the top House Republicans says no GOP members plan to vote for the bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the reconciliation process Democrats plan to use to push the Senate bill will not allow for any changes in abortion funding or promotion. "It is clear that that matter cannot be dealt with per se in the reconciliation bill. We'll have to deal with it pretty much as is it at this point in time," Hoyer said, according to Politico.

A new Ivy League "fellow" will soon have the opportunity to teach students his belief that white people are "steering poison into the people-of-color communities" and that America should give up its wealth to the American Indians. This June, Princeton University will welcome to its hallowed halls former Obama Green Jobs Czar Van Jones, a self-proclaimed communist. The story of how America started down a path leading to communist instructors in our classrooms begs to be told. In 1899, Vermonter John Dewey unveiled his vision for remaking American education -- a vision swallowed whole by "progressive" educators and used to corrupt the themes and methods used to teach our young. In The School and Society, Dewey declared that education doesn't occur "between teacher and pupil, or between teacher and parent"[i]. Education is a responsibility that society must execute using techniques "previously ignored as trivial, futile, or even condemned as positively evil"[ii].