Because patriotism is a bad thing.
(Big Government) — Just when I thought nothing could be as outrageous as my recent post “God Bless Our Military . . . just not at the Houston National Cemetery” where veterans are being censored for religious speech, I hear about what is happening in our furthest county of northeast Texas.
Seems the Bowie County Commissioners Court voted on June 13, 2011, to remove our country’s Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation from their county meeting minutes.
As reported on the Red Flame Wire:
. . .on June 13, 2011, the Commissioner Court, with the exception of Commissioner John Addington, decided that they no longer wanted the records to reflect that the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation were said for fear it would give the perception that it is the courts official stance.
In Texas, meetings are governed by Title 5, Chapter 551 of the Government Code, otherwise known as the Texas Open Meetings Act. In short, a meeting which is to be recorded (written or electronic) is defined when a quorum (majority) of a government body is present, who partakes in deliberation (defined by the act as a “verbal exchange”) and consist of an item under jurisdiction (public business or public policy) of the governmental body.
During the meeting, the minutes of the court were brought up before the court. Precinct 4 Commissioner Pat McCoy, made a suggestion that the court not approve the minutes. McCoy claims that, although the Pledge and Invocation did take place, since the judge did not use words “call the meeting to order,” the records cannot reflect the Pledge of Allegiance or the Prayer.
There is no law in Texas that backs McCoy’s claim.