This is a halfway measure, and in some ways makes things worse than they were before. As long as this remains an "option" it is still discriminatory. A person who opts for the secular oath is forced to make a public disclosure of his or her nonreligious status. Continue the battle until there is only one oath for everyone, i.e. a fully secular oath for everyone.

This is a step in the right direction, but how about jury duty? When the judge swore us in there it was, the "So Help Me God" BS without any warning. I dropped my hand and shut my mouth. This shouldn't be necessary.

Who were these "lawyers" who said that swearing to the gods was not only legal, but required? From what "law school" did they graduate? Where are they licensed? Kids, this is why we can't have nice things.

These "lawyers" came from the Virginia cesspools of evangelical "law schools"...Pat Robertson and his Regent University and, Jerry Falwell and his
Liberty University.

The fact that this took the threat of a lawsuit to have happen just indicates how clueless so many are in this country. There is no way that any thinking person would find that a governmental agency requiring someone to swear an oath containing "so help me god" is not in violation of the first amendment.

I've been promoting officers and enlisted Marines for years. I have had only one request for a secular oath from a SNCO who knew I was a secular humanist. We opted for "affirm" vice "swear" and simply dropped the "So help me God" at the end. We promoted him in front of a large crowd of civilians and Marines at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and no one batted an eye. It was easy and transparent. Personally, it is no affront to me to include, "So help me God" when I recite my own oath, although it is not part of my personal belief system. I find traditions, secular and religious, enjoyable.

bro(t)her! if G-D was to invest with you (and in you) HIS Words
would you invest HIS Words wisely
1) by(e) you giving HIS Words away to(o) others for free (ho ho ho)
and
2) by(e) you righting wrongs
or would you do-nothing with HIS Words and return to HIM a
chump (change!)

Q: bro(t)her! are not we(e spirits!) all "on"
G-D'S Celestial Candid Camera 'show
(and tell)'?
p.s.
bro(t)her! do your best to(o) so(w!) THAT you don't get gonged
p.p.s.
bro(t)her! remember The Gong Show

U.S. Department of Justice,
man has proved (over time) that man can train dogs
and cats and birds and horses and elephants and pigs
(those animals outside man)
p.s.
bro(t)her! now (nunc) prove (to GOD and All His Angels) THAT you
(wee spirit) can train man
(the animal you are in)

U.S. Department of Justice,
Q1: are not we(e spirits) all recorders?
Q2: are not we(e spirits) all recording
every move we(e spirits) make?
Q3: are not we(e spirits) all recording
every dumb (dopey?) thing we(e spirits) spake?
Q4: are not we(e spirits) all recording
every brother/sister we(e spirits) forsake?
Q5: are not we(e spirits) all recording
every thing we(e spirits) take and/or break?
p.s.
5 = a hand

U.S. Department of Justice,
I can can't you find (not Waldo) G-D!
in song and in dance;
in math and in science;
in looks and in books
p.s.
U.S. Department of Justice,
I found G-D!
in The Psychic Side of Sports
by Rhea A. White and Michael Murphy
p.p.s.
G-D in sports
p.p.p.s.
U.S. Department of Justice,
I can can't you 'see and hear' G-D
in Louie Armstrong
p.p.p.p.s.
U.S. Department of Justice,
I can can't you 'see and hear' G-D
in Anne Frank

U.S. Department of Justice,
Q: what separates most men from G-D 'feet or feats'?
A: feats!

U.S. Department of Justice,
Q1: are not we(e spirits) recorders?
Q2: are not we(e spirits) recording
every move we(e spirits) make?
Q3: are not we(e spirits) recording
every dumb (dopey) word we(e spirits) spake?
Q4: are not we(e spirits) recording
every brother/sister we(e spirits) forsake?
Q5: are not we(e spirits) recording
every thing we(e spirits) take and/or break?
p.s.
5 = a hand

bro(t)her! does not G-D issue us (wee spirits) permits to(o)
drive "that man!" or "that woman!" around (t)HIS planet (earth)
p.s.
bro(t)her! don't break G-D'S Laws
bro(t)her! obey G-D'S Laws

bro(t)her! if you tell us THAT (you love G-D)
then show us THAT
p.s.
'tell and show'
p.p.s.
bro(t)her! if you tell us THAT (you love G-D)
then show us THAT
1) by(e) you keeping HIS Commandments (behave!)
2) by(e) you righting wrongs (act!)

U.S. Department of Justice,
I don't have a billion bucks but
I do have Lily's Law: 21 to buy laxatives
U.S. Department of Justice,
I don't have a million bucks but
I do have G-D'S Two Part Plan for man (nunc)
U.S. Department of Justice,
I don't have (can't afford) a shiny new car but
I do have G-D'S BACK! do you?

bro(t)her! G-D is (t)HE BEST

bro(t)her! G-D 'Teaches and Tests'

bro(t)her! G-D 'Plants and Prunes'

bro(t)her! G-D 'Confronts and Rebukes'

G-D is ONE
G-D is WON
G-D is FUN

bro(t)her! THE HOLY SPIRIT is THE ONE
WHO 'Convicts and Evicts'

bro(t)her! THE HOLY SPIRIT is THE ONE
WHO gets the sin (the seven sins which are man's weaknesses) out!

bro(t)her! THE HOLY SPIRIT is THE ONE
WHO will bring "that man!" you are in to its knees!

bro(t)her! THE HOLY SPIRIT is THE ONE
WHO brings (t)HE TRUTH

dumb-he! vs smart-he!
p.s.
12 labours of hercules vs 12 tests of Abraham

bro(t)her! know THAT
JESUS is (t)HE MAN and THE LADY'S MAN

bro(t)her! wake up... before, "it's too late!"

U.S. Department of Justice,
while you were sleeping I went fishing
on G-D’S web
look at what I caught and reeled in:
NYS WCB commissioner bios
(google it! ask it! bing it! aol it! yahoo it!)
eat! eat!
p.s.
U.S. Department of Justice,
when you delivered the FDNY the news “hire! all people
(not just friends and family)”
did you (DOJ) go down the FDNY’s chimney?
or
did you (DOJ) kick the FDNY’s door down?

U.S. Department of Justice,
while you were sleeping I went fishing
on G-D’S web
look at what I caught and reeled in:
NYS WCB 2001 Annual Report
NYS WCB 2006 Annual Report
eat! eat!
U.S. Department of Justice,
how many Indian-American women and men do you see in reports?
how many African-American women and men do you see in reports?
how many Asian-American women and men do you see in reports?
how many Latin-American women and men do you see in reports?
how many Native-American women and men do you see in reports?
how many ME-American women and men do you see in reports?
p.s.
someone call the cops!
(someone call the Chicago EEOC!)

bro(t)her! cling not to(o) fame nor to(o) fortune
bro(t)her! cling not to(o) power nor to(o) praise
bro(t)her! cling not to(o) booze nor to(o) (Imelda's silver) shoes
bro(t)her! cling not to(o) pills nor to(o) terrestrial thrills
bro(t)her! cling not to(o) the sun nor to(o) a teeny tiny gun
p.s.
bro(t)her! these terrestrial things are your doll's dolls
p.p.s.
Q: bro(t)her! what's your doll?
A: "that man!"s skin you (wee spirit) are in
p.p.p.s.
bro(t)her! cling to G-D

bro(t)her! don't hate cavemen; educate cavemen

G-D'S Two Part Plan for man (nunc)
part I stop sinning (behave!)
part II start saving (act!)
G-D'S Two Part Plan for man (tunc)
part I cease to do evil
part II learn to do well
p.s.
ho ho ho
p.p.s.
bro(t)her! G-D knows who's naughty and who's nice

bro(t)her! don't ever be afraid to(o)
deliver G-D'S Mail

to all U.S. legislators,
if you want (desire) to help millions of girls and women
now and in the future
then make law!
Lily's Law: 21 to buy laxatives; keep laxatives behind counter
so(w!) THAT
kids don't steal laxatives!
laxatives are addictive and do cause serious internal injuries
p.s.
to all U.S. legislators,
don't tell us THAT (you are pro-woman and pro-girl power)
if you are unwilling to show us THAT
p.p.s.
'tell and show'
p.p.p.s.
to all U.S. legislators,
if you tell us THAT (you are pro-woman and pro-girl power)
then show us THAT
by(e bye) you doing your best to(o) make Lily's Law law

bro(t)her! do your best to(o)
be pro-woman and pro-girl power
G-D is!

If things have not changed since my time in the service, he will have to post his 'no religious preference' on his permanent record in the religious preference column. This file goes before promotion boards and is available to commanders who rate his performance. I don't think this is appropriate, and certainly affected the ratings and promotions of service members in my time. I wish him luck in the service.