Coin image omits FUMES

Coin image omits 'In God We Trust'
By JESSAMY BROWN
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
A Keller school district parent said political correctness has run amok at her daughter's elementary school, where the principal chose to omit the words "In God We Trust" from an oversize coin depicted on the yearbook cover.
Janet Travis, principal of Liberty Elementary School in Colleyville, wanted to avoid offending students of different religions, a district spokesman said. Students were given stickers with the words that could be affixed to the book if they so chose.
Debi Ackerman of North Richland Hills said she is offended by the omission. It's yet another example of a politically correct culture that is removing Christian references from all public places, she said.
"I think it's really ridiculous," said Ackerman, whose daughter Tawni, 10, took the book home Thursday afternoon. "Now it has come to this. ... When is it going to end?"
Officials chose an image of an enlarged nickel for the yearbook cover because this is Liberty Elementary's first year and because the nickel has a new design this year.
The nickel design features President Jefferson and the word Liberty in cursive, with the words "In God We Trust" along the right edge.
Keller administrators agreed with the decision, which Travis made in conjunction with a school parents group, district spokesman Jason Meyer said. District policy states, in part: "The District shall take no action respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech."
Principals must strive to remain neutral regarding religion, Meyer said.
"It's not always easy to make everybody happy when we are making decisions," he said. He said Travis was unavailable for comment Friday.
Michael Linz, a Dallas attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the district's move was appropriate, sensitive and constitutional.
"Sometimes administrators and schools are really caught trying to make appropriate decisions with respect to people's views. Someone is always going to complain," he said. "I think that the school administrators were drawing the appropriate line by trying not to offend others."
Ackerman suggested that the school could have used a different symbol for liberty, such as the Liberty Bell or the Statue of Liberty, if it was concerned about giving offense. But Gardner said those symbols may not be acceptable to everyone, either.
"We are a public school," he said. "We sure do not want to step on anybody's toes. I don't think any harm was intended."

Toebee fumes:
OK Kids each day upon entering the hallowed halls of our distinguished and beloved Liberty Elementary School please empty your pockets of all your coins along with your bills and place neatly in school supported idiocy. Make sure that your full name, home room teachers name and the amount is written clearly on outside of packaging. Your money will be returned to you once all coins and bills will not offend anyone. If due to a power failure our grinder is no longer in use all spare change will further help pay for legal council and dues into the ACLU. If you are found using "offending monies" at lunch our lunch ladies will immediately call school security. Security will then handcuff you and lead you to the front office to make a public apology over the PA System to all offended students and faculty. If a second offense is found out you will be locked up immediately in our facilities SuperMax portable out back. Length of stay will be determined by how sorry you are for using Government sanctioned monies to secure a meal for your tummy.

OK maybe I am taking it a bit too far, or am I? The way things are leading this may become closer to reality than we think. To me it is funny that Mr. Linz stated "Someone is always going to complain." He is a Lawyer for the ACLU. They are the organization that has been up front in the complaint department. At one point in our American existence we survived having IN GOD WE TRUST on all of our money. The funny thing is that people got along better then and America stood for something.

Easy solution next time: Choose something that does not have "IN GOD WE TRUST" written on it. Maybe a blade of grass, but I guess we all have something against it as well since lawn mowers are out there chopping up innocent blades of grass everyday. What have they done to you that you have to cut them up all of the time?

One of the funniest components to this whole thing is the sticker they can place on it that reads "In God We Trust". Those offended with In God We Trust can now officially go and tell those who want it on their book to go and "stick it".